France / Italy / Germany,
1974, 130 min
Shown in 1974
CREDITS
- dir
-
Louis Malle
- prod
-
Louis Malle
- scr
-
Louis Malle, Patrick Modiano
- cam
-
Tonino Delli Colli
- editor
-
Suzanne Baron
- cast
-
Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger Lowenadler, Therese Giehse, Stephane Bouy, Loumi Iacobesco, Rene Bouloc, Pierre Decazes
- source
-
Twentieth Century-Fox
-
COMMENTS
Shown 10/18/74; Aurore Clément attended.
OTHER
Ever since Louis Malle and his Murmur of the Heart were the hit of the 1971 Festival, we have been awaiting his next film. It is here, and it is one of the most sensitive and touching dramas in years. During the last months of World War II, Lucien Lacombe a French farm boy, grows bored with his existence and joins the patrol of the local office of the German Occupation. (The title reverses his name in the manner of the military roll call, emphasizing the merging of his identity with his new calling). One of his duties is to keep an eye on a Jewish tailor and his daughter, and the boy’s pride in his new power and position clashes with his deepening relationships with his prey. Pierre Blaise, a non-professional actor making his first appearance as Lucien, incarnates the exact combination of adolescent rebellion and nascent humanity central to the title role, and Aurore Clement’s portrayal of the girl already has her in line for parts in upcoming major productions. A runaway hit this year in France, Lacombe, Lucien is not to be missed.
FACTOID #384
Henry Fonda attended the SFIFF in 1967 to receive a tribute for his work in classics like The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men. Daughter Jane showed up in 1975 for a tribute of her own. And her brother Peter made two Festival appearances, one as a guest in 1963 and another to accompany the film Nadja (in which he gleefully portrayed Dr. Van Helsing) in 1995.
