Le Combat Dans L'ile

A hidden gem of the French New Wave, Alain Cavalier's Le Combat dans l'ale is as coolly modern as it is tensely gripping. Filled with thrilling plot twists, jazzy gun battles and stormy betrayals, this scintillating neo-noir unfolds against a backdrop of 1960s political turmoil and is strikingly shot in stark black and white by legendary cinematographer Pierre Lhomme (Army of Shadows, King of Hearts). The charismatic, surly son of a wealthy industrialist, Clément (Jean-Louis Trintignant, of Z and The Conformist) leads a secret double life as a member of a right-wing extremist organization. When he's ratted out after a failed assassination attempt on a prominent politician, Clément and his long-suffering wife Anne (the luminous German screen siren Romy Schneider) flee Paris to the idyllic country home of his childhood friend, Paul (Henri Serre, of Jules and Jim). While Clément embodies reactionary machismo, with his sudden outbursts of brutality, Paul-an artisanal printmaker by trade-is an easy-going, gentle pacifist. As affection blossoms between Paul and Anne, the emotional as well as political tensions soar-and eventually explode.