Le Petit Soldat

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.