Le Combat dans l’île (1962) - film review

Clément belongs to an extreme right-wing terrorist cell.  In a failed assassination attempt, Clément is betrayed by one of his comrades and he goes into hiding with his wife.  They stay with a friend, Paul, who lives in the country.  When he discovers which member of his gang betrayed him, Clément sets out to take his revenge.  Meanwhile, his wife finds she is attracted to Paul...

Although less well known than his contemporaries, Alain Cavalier was a contributor to the French New Wave of the early 1960s.  A prime example of this is his first full-length film, Le Combat dans l’île, which is a story that covers the traditional themes of love, loyalty and betrayal.


This is also a very political film, motivated by the popular concerns at the time that France would drift towards fascism after her humiliating setbacks in Vietnam and Algeria. Cavalier set out to voice this concerns loudly in this film, but this merely resulted in conflict with the censors, who demanded that certain politically charged scenes be removed.  This is sad, because the resulting film feels a little mealy mouthed and insubstantial as a result of this editing.  However, the fascist undertones are still there for all to see.  There is certainly a noticeable contrast with, say, Truffaut or Godard’s cinema – the politics in Cavalier’s film is much darker, much more disturbing.

Jean-Louis Trintignant plays the role of the extremist and all-round bad guy Clément.  This is a surprising yet brilliant piece of casting. Trintignant is far better known as the gentle romantic, equipped with his boyish good looks and feline charm.  This film shows that he is equally well equipped to play the villain.  This is surely one of his best, and most chilling performances.

The film also boasts two other fine and well-known actors.  First, Romy Schneider, a very capable actress, who plays the character who is caught in the firing line between two rival lovers.  Then there is Henri Serre, who is probably best known for his role as Jim in Truffaut’s legendary Jules et Jim, which was made the same year.  Serre is convincing as the laid-back pacifist, just as Trintignant is as the obsessed political activist.  In the final violent showdown between the two characters you feel yourself inwardly cheering Serre on to give Trintignant what he deserves.

© James Travers 2000

Write a review for this film...

What do you think of this film?