Le Petit Soldat (1963)
January 25, 1963
Drama, Romance
1h 27m


In 1958, during the Algerian War, Bruno Forestier, a young man belonging to a far-right group fighting against the Algerian resistance, arrives from France in Geneva. As a cover for deserting the French army, he is given a job as a photographer. The group's leader, a Poujadist MP, tasks him with killing a Swiss radio journalist, Palivoda, a supporter of the Algerian cause. A friend introduces Bruno to a young girl who "has the same kind of mouth as Leslie Caron" and who wants to become a model, and bets him $50 that he will fall in love with her; shortly after introducing him to Véronica, an aspiring actress, he succeeds. The Little Soldier is Jean-Luc Godard's second feature film after Breathless, and it is Godard's first film with Anna Karina. Filmed in 1960, but not released until January 25, 1963 due to a censorship ban.
Cast & Crew
- Director
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Bruno Forestier Michel Subor
- Veronica Dreyer Anna Karina
- Jacques Henri-Jacques Huet
- Laszlo László Szabó
- Activist Leader (uncredited) Georges de Beauregard
- Man at Railway Station (uncredited) Jean-Luc Godard
Recommendations
Keywords
- french colonialism
- algerian war (1954-62)
- anti-imperialism