Le Petit Soldat

1963 1h 27m FR

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 188

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Despite his lack of political convictions, photojournalist Bruno Forestier is roped into a paramilitary group waging a shadow war in Geneva against the Algerian independence movement.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Michel Subor
Bruno Forestier
Anna Karina
Veronica Dreyer
Henri-Jacques Huet
Jacques
Paul Beauvais
Paul
Szabó László
Laszlo
Georges de Beauregard
Activist Leader (uncredited)
Gilbert Edard
(uncredited)
Jean-Luc Godard
Man at Railway Station (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writers: Jean-Luc Godard
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, shot by Raoul Coutard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Maurice Le Roux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lila Herman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michel Subor and Anna Karina and Henri-Jacques Huet carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Luc Godard directs. Raoul Coutard behind the camera. Maurice Le Roux scores. Lila Herman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
363 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, shot by Raoul Coutard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Maurice Le Roux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lila Herman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michel Subor and Anna Karina and Henri-Jacques Huet carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0054177 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Original score: Maurice Le Roux
Editing: Lila Herman
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Budget: $180,000
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 14
IMDB: Le Petit Soldat (1963)

Also by

Jean-Luc Godard

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CRCulver2018-08-26
★ 6/10
Shot in 1960, but banned until 1963 due to its frank treatment of French torture of Algerian separatists, Jean-Luc Godard's Le petit soldat is a political thriller mixed with a love story. Bruno (Michel Subor) is a French agent in Geneva, fighting a secret war against Arab spies supporting the Algerian cause. Tired of his superiors' demands that he assassinate another agent to prove his loyalty, he dreams of escaping to Brazil with the lovely Danish young lady Veronica (Anna Karina). Will they make it or not? I am assuming that anyone who is considering this film has already seen Godard's first film Breathless. Love it or hate it, it's a 20th-century classic and something any film buff should see. Godard's second film here initially seems to follow the same plot, where a man playing a deadly game of cat and mouse flirts with a woman who is oblivious to the danger he's in, and there are some gratuitous jump cuts too. However, Le petit soldat has some twists and turns in its action and is no retread of its predecessor. Furthermore, the editing is tighter and the mise-en-scène more powerful; already one feels that Goddard has matured to the level of his following films of the 1960s. To audiences half a century later, when the Algerian War is slowly forgotten even by the French, this may not seem a very in-your-face political commentary. However, Godard does include a few bitter references to World War II, suggesting that the same forces who righteously held out against Hitler only fifteen years before are now the aggressors against their colonial territory. While this is a less-talked-about Godard film, for me at least it has proven more thought-provoking than Breathless, raising moral questions that remain relevant in Europe today, and featuring some shocking plot developments. Karina's role in this film is a very interesting one. Karina had arrived in France not long before and still spoke only rudimentary French, so Godard gave her a minimum of lines. For the most part, she is a mere Barbie doll, a symbol of Bruno's infatuation. As if underline that Karina is serving only as a delight for the eye, Godard has Bruno photograph her for several minutes while she stands in various poses. As Godard's subsequent films revealed, Karina wasn't just looks, she had considerable talent as an actress, but her part here does not allow that to come through.

Production companies