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Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: November 28th, 2023.
Director: Alain Cavalier
Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, Henri Serre
Year: 1962
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Le combat dans l’ile – Movie Review:
Produced by none other than Louis Malle, Le combat dans l’ile, which was the directorial debut of Alain Cavalier, stars the inimitable Jean-Louis Trintignant as a man named Clement. He leads a life of privilege in many ways, as his father is an extremely wealthy businessman, but Clement leads a double life and is, in fact, a right-wing terrorist.
When an assassination attempt that he’s involved with goes wrong, he decides to leave Paris and, along with his beautiful wife, Anne (Romy Schneider) – who has understandable issues with her husband’s clandestine activities - stay for a while in the country home of his friend, a leftist printer named Paul (Henri Serre). As Clement begins to obsess over the betrayal he’s recently suffered and come up with a scheme for revenge, his wife starts to wrestle with the burgeoning romantic feelings she’s developing for her husband’s childhood best friend.
An extremely stylish and politically charged mix of romantic drama and tense thriller tropes, Le combat dans l’ile is tonally uneven but ultimately quite satisfying thanks to the film’s gorgeous cinematography and some really strong performances from the three leads. Set against the backdrop of France’s war in Algeria, lovely Romy Schneider serves as a not so obvious metaphor for France itself, torn between the left and the right with understandable reasons to want to be with each. It’s a bit heavy-handed at times but for the most part, Cavalier makes it work. At just over a hundred minutes, the film could have used a little tightening here and there but for the most part, the pacing is pretty solid and the editing effective.
If, at times, cinematographer Pierre Lhomme is the real star of the show, we still walk away impressed by the quality of the performances in the film. Schneider not only looks great here but creates an interesting character with her portrayal of Anne. We can see why she’s as conflicted as she is about her situation and understand why she’d be attracted to Paul after dealing with Clement. She’s believable enough here to make it work. Likewise, Henri Serre as quite good as Clement’s childhood friend with very different political leanings and ideologies. The conflict that arises between his character and top-billed Jean-Louis Trintignant is palpable and the two actors do a really solid job of ‘selling it’ to the audience.
If, at times, it feels like Cavalier is mining territory already covered incredibly well by Claude Chabrol, what with the film’s explorations of the effects of greed and wealth on the upper class and their persona relationships, so be it, but even if that influence seems obvious, Le combat dans l’ile proves a strong debut from a talented filmmaker.
Le combat dans l’ile – Blu-ray Review:
Radiance Films brings Le combat dans l’ile to Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.66.1 widescreen on a 50GB disc taken from a 2k restoration of the original negative. Some shots look sharper than others but this seems to stem back to the photography, not the elements or the transfer. Detail I, generally speaking, very strong here throughout the movie while contrast is, with one or two minor exceptions, pretty much perfect. Black levels are nice and deep and texture is strong. The picture is stable and free of compression artifacts or digital tinkering and we wind up with a really authentic, film-like picture on this disc.
The only audio option on the disc is a French language 24-bit LPCM Mono track, there are no alternate language options here though removable English subtitles are offered. For an older, mono track, this mix offers a decent amount of depth. Levels are set properly, dialogue is clean and clear and there’s not a trace of hiss or distortion to be found. The score has very good clarity to it. The audio here is strong, to be sure.
Extras start off with an interview with Alain Cavalier from French television show Cinema page. This five minute piece from 1962 sees the director speak for a few minutes about what it was like directing his first feature, his preferences when it comes to art, working with Louis Malle, political influences and working with the main cast members.
France 1961 is a thirteen minute short film made by Cavalier for the release of the film on DVD in 2010 by Zeitgeist. It is essentially Cavalier looking over and commenting on a series of archival photographs taken during the making of Le combat dans l’ile.
Faire la mort (or, Playing Dead') is a five minute featurette by Cavalier where he talks about different scenes from Le combat dans l’ile and some of what he was trying to get across with the film.
Up next is an eight minute interview with star Jean-Louis Trintignant from the Belgian television show Cinescope conducted in 1983. He talks about his life and career, his work as a photographer and some of his memories of making the movie, acting alongside Romy Schneider, working with Cavalier and his thoughts on the film.
The Succulence of Fruit is a thirty-seven minute interview with French critic Philippe Roger. There's an emphasis here on Cavalier's style and approach to telling the story that he does with his debut feature, as well as thoughts on the intimacy of the director's work, where his work feels like that of a craftsman versus that of an artist, thoughts on the different characters and performances, the politics behind the movie, how the movie differs in how it portrays its male and female characters and quite a bit more.
Un américain is Cavalier’s first short film, running seventeen minutes and created in 1958, that tells the story of an American sculptor named John D'Agostino who comes to Paris and acclimates himself to the city while trying to work on his art and find a way to support himself. He takes a job selling newspapers and starts a romance with a woman named Anna. It's an interesting exploration of art versus commerce with a stranger in a strange land theme running through it.
Finishing up the extras on the disc is a behind-the-scenes still gallery of photos that includes images from the archive of Louis Malle, a trailer, menus and chapter selection options.
As to the packaging, Radiance Films offers up some reversible cover sleeve art featuring original art on one side and newly commissioned artwork on the other. The clear keepcase holds not only the Blu-ray disc but also a limited edition booklet featuring an essay on the film by critic Ben Sachs titled ‘Classicism And Modernity In Le combat dans l’le’ and an essay from scholar and author of Late-Colonial French Cinema Mani Sharpe titled ‘Le combat dans l’ile: A Tale Of Fascism And Pacifism.’ A third piece is also included, titled ‘On the Nouvelle Vague And Working With Alain Cavalier’ by Pierre Lhomme. Also included in the booklet are some technical notes on the presentation and a few archival photos. As is the norm with Radiance’s releases, we also get a removable Obi strip included as well - always a neat touch.
Le combat dans l’ile - The Final Word:
Le combat dans l’ile is well-made and interesting, worth seeking out for those with an appreciation for The French New Wave or any of its three lead actors. The Blu-ray release from Radiance features some interesting extra features and presents the movie itself in a beautiful presentation. Recommended.