Synopsis
Thomas Vlassenroot, a citizen of Luxembourg, after his divorce, decides to enlist in the French Foreign Legion. He is posted to Algeria, where the film opens with him trying in vain to save a wounded comrade while under fire from the rebels. Thomas deserts to join the OAS on the order of Lieutenant Fraser (Georges Géret).
After the 1961 putsch, a disillusioned Thomas wants to return home but agrees to take part in a plan to kidnap lawyer Dominique Servet in return for enough money to enable him to pay smugglers who can ferry him to France.
Dominique Servet is in Algiers working for the prosecution on a case involving important Europeans, her Algerian witnesses making her a target of the OAS. While guarding Dominique, Thomas' conscience is aroused by Dominique's plight, and he is attracted to her—she implores him to release her, but instead he agrees to give her water—the other guard, Amerio (a Pied-Noir) warns him at gunpoint not to get soft. Thomas is also armed, and they end up shooting at each other. Amerio is killed, while Thomas is wounded. Dominique pays Thomas the smuggling fee in exchange for freeing her and another prisoner. Thomas locks up Fraser when he comes to check on them, and is warned that the OAS will never stop hunting Thomas if he goes through with this—Amerio's death can be forgiven, but not the betrayal of releasing the prisoners. He says Thomas would be better off killing him—but Thomas refuses to kill Fraser—to him, that would be murder. He puts water in the cell, and tells his girlfriend Maria (whose devotion he can only partly return) to go and release Fraser once he's safely out of Algeria.
Arriving in France, Thomas takes the train back to Luxembourg but during a stop in Lyon he disembarks, taking the chance that Dominique will provide help—and wanting to see her again. Thomas finds Dominique at home and a doctor is called to help get Thomas into a hospital under a fake name once she learns how serious his injuries are.
She takes him to a room he can hide out in while waiting, and in spite of her loyalty to her husband, she ends up going to bed with him there. Fraser, who had been watching Dominique's house, follows them to the room with an associate. He intends to kill them both, but takes too long explaining to Thomas that his betrayal of the movement was unnecessary; he would have kept his word about not punishing Thomas for the death of Amerio. Fraser can't understand the real reasons Thomas did what he did, anymore than he understood why Fraser would risk his life for a dying man. Thomas asks for a moment to adjust his bandages then shoots the other OAS man with a gun he had concealed under the bedclothes—again leaving Fraser alive, because he can't kill in cold blood.
Dominique drives him in her Citroën DS. On the way back to his home they go through roadblocks, get shot at by the police, and finally with the help of Dominique's understanding husband he finally crosses the border to Luxembourg and reaches his mother's bee farm. He is increasingly aware that his untreated wound will be fatal, but is obsessed with getting back before he dies.
He enters his home and finds his little girl sitting at the table. She is frightened by what and who she sees before her, and runs away. He collapses on the floor and dies while passing his hand over his face as if to close his eyes. Dominique still waiting outside the fence cries out his name. The film closes on a silent black screen with Thomas Vlassenroot's name and dates of birth and death, 1933–1961. [9]
The Organisation armée secrète was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques Susini. The OAS carried out several terrorist attacks, including tortures, bombings and assassinations, all resulting in over 2,000 deaths in an attempt to prevent Algeria's independence from French colonial rule. Its motto was L’Algérie est française et le restera.
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of the foremost European actors of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and became an international sex symbol. He is regarded as one of the most well-known figures of the French cultural landscape. His style, looks, and roles, which made him an international icon, earned him enduring popularity.
Purple Noon is a 1960 crime thriller film starring Alain Delon, alongside Marie Laforêt and Maurice Ronet; Romy Schneider, Delon's girlfriend at the time, makes a brief cameo appearance in the film. The film follows Tom Ripley, a young American sent to Italy to convince wealthy playboy Philippe Greenleaf to return home. As Tom becomes obsessed with Philippe's luxurious lifestyle, he devises a plan that will allow him to take over Philippe's life.
Le Samouraï is a 1967 neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, and Cathy Rosier. A Franco-Italian production, it depicts the intersecting paths of a professional hitman (Delon) trying to find out who hired him for a job and then tried to have him killed, and the Parisian commissaire (Périer) trying to catch him.
Un flic is a 1972 crime thriller film, the last directed by Jean-Pierre Melville before his death the following year. It stars Alain Delon, Richard Crenna and Catherine Deneuve. Delon had previously portrayed criminals in Melville's Le Samouraï (1967) and Le Cercle Rouge (1970), but in Un flic, his role is reversed, and he plays the title character.
The Fire Within is a 1963 drama film written and directed by Louis Malle. It is based on the 1931 novel Will O' the Wisp by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, which was inspired by the life of poet Jacques Rigaut. The film stars Maurice Ronet and features Léna Skerla, Jean-Paul Moulinot, Bernard Tiphaine, Bernard Noël, Jeanne Moreau, Jacques Sereys, and Alexandra Stewart in supporting roles. The score consists of music composed by Erik Satie and performed by pianist Claude Helffer.
Diabolically Yours is a 1967 psychological thriller film starring Alain Delon and Senta Berger. It was the last film by director Julien Duvivier.
Anna Maria Massetani, known professionally as Lea Massari, is an Italian actress and singer.
Indian Summer is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Valerio Zurlini and starring Alain Delon, Sonia Petrovna, Renato Salvatori, Alida Valli, Adalberto Maria Merli, Salvo Randone and Lea Massari. The version released in France and West Germany runs less than the Italian cut.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a drama film directed by Francesco Rosi adapted by Tonino Guerra from the eponymous novella by the Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez. It stars Rupert Everett, Ornella Muti, Anthony Delon and Gian Maria Volonté. The film premiered at Cannes film festival in May 1987.
Borsalino is a 1970 French gangster film directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon and Catherine Rouvel. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2009, Empire named it No. 19 in a poll of "The 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen… Probably". A sequel, Borsalino & Co., was released in 1974 with Alain Delon in the leading role. The film is based on real-life gangsters Paul Carbone and François Spirito, who collaborated with Nazi Germany during the occupation of France in World War II.
The Return of Casanova is a 1992 French period drama film directed by Édouard Niermans, and based on Arthur Schnitzler's novella Casanova's Homecoming. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
La Piscine is a 1969 psychological thriller film directed by Jacques Deray, starring Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, and Jane Birkin.
Any Number Can Win is a 1963 French crime drama film directed by Henri Verneuil. The film is based on the novel The Big Grab by Zekial Marko.
Adieu l'ami is a 1968 French-Italian heist crime film directed by Jean Herman and produced by Serge Silberman, with a screenplay by Sebastien Japrisot. The film was a great success in Europe and made Charles Bronson a star there after a career as a supporting actor in Hollywood.
The Last Adventure is a 1967 French-Italian adventure drama film directed by Robert Enrico and based on a novel by José Giovanni. A tale of adventure, two handsome men, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura, with a good-looking girl, Joanna Shimkus, escape setbacks in France to go in search of sunken treasure off the coast of Africa. But finding the loot only brings them new and more deadly challenges.
Jeff is a 1969 French-Italian crime film financed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Starring Alain Delon and Mireille Darc, it tells the story of a gang of thieves who fall out after a robbery and start killing each other off.
Creezy is a 1974 French film directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre and starring Alain Delon. It is based on the novel Creezy by Félicien Marceau.
Icy Breasts is a 1974 French-Italian psychological thriller film written and directed by Georges Lautner and starring Alain Delon. It is based on Richard Matheson's 1953 novel Someone Is Bleeding.
Pour la peau d'un flic is a 1981 French crime-thriller film starring and directed by Alain Delon. It was Delon's directorial debut.
