Directed by:
Costa-GavrasCinematography:
Jean TournierComposer:
Michel MagneCast:
Bruno Cremer, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michel Piccoli, Charles Vanel, Claude Brasseur, Gérard Blain, Albert Rémy, Jacques Perrin, François Périer, Michel Creton (more)Plots(1)
Before cementing his status as a global synonym for mainstream leftwing political filmmaking in the late 20th century, Costa-Gavras graced France, his second homeland, with the fearsome partisan thriller 1 homme de trop. Costa-Gavras had a personal stake in choosing the subject matter. His father was a member of the Greek resistance during World War II, and the family’s communist past played a role in young Konstantinos’ relocation to France. Based on the novel by Jean-Pierre Chabrol – he too a veteran communist resistance fighter and member of the FTP (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans) – 1 homme de trop tells a tale of a ragtag group of countryside fighters who alternately sow chaos amongst the occupying forces and simply try to survive. The explosive and almost non-stop action is underpinned by a complex, ever-developing moral dilemma. One member of the group, “one man too many”, played with quiet gusto by Michel Piccoli, who the group happens to liberate from prison early on in the film, might not be who he claims he is. Suspicions quickly escalate into accusations, and accusations become repercussions, although the fury of the battlefield will quickly disperse all doubts. At the time of 1 homme de trop’s US release, the New York Times called the last shot “curiously antiseptic”, but Costa-Gavras was simply ahead of his time, crafting a visually and morally breathless conclusion that has to be seen to be believed. (Viennale)
(more)Cast
Michel Duplaix
France
Best movies:
Fantomas (1964)
Fantomas Strikes Back (1965)
Holy Year (1976)
Billy Kearns
USA
Best movies:
Asterix in Britain (1986)
Asterix vs. Caesar (1985)
Witness in the City (1959)
Jacqueline Staup
Best movies:
May Fools (1990)
The Sleeping Car Murders (1965)
Lacombe Lucien (1974)
Gérard Darrieu
France
Best movies:
Les Misérables (1958)
The Professional (1981)
Witness in the City (1959)
Serge Sauvion
France
Best movies:
Asterix in Britain (1986)
Asterix vs. Caesar (1985)
Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)
André Dalibert
France
Best movies:
Agence matrimoniale (1952)
Les Misérables (1958)
Rififi (1955)
Guy Mairesse
France
Best movies:
Le Glaive et la balance (1963)
No Time for Breakfast (1976)
The Confession (1970)
Edmond Ardisson
France
Best movies:
Les Misérables (1958)
Love and Death (1975)
The Annuity (1972)
Sady Rebbot
Morocco
Best movies:
The French Revolution (1989) (TV movie)
My Life to Live (1962)
Shock Troops (1967)
René Alone
Best movies:
Les Copains du dimanche (1958)
Shock Troops (1967)
Les Trois Mousquetaires (1959) (TV movie)
Michèle Bardollet
France
Best movies:
The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) (series)
Mother (1991)
How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning (1965)
Philippe Forquet
France
Best movies:
Waterloo (1970)
Shock Troops (1967)
La Situation est grave... mais pas désespérée (1976)
Jean-Louis Le Goff
Best movies:
Inspector Maigret (1958)
Lovers of Paris (1957)
The Seventh Company Outdoors (1977)
Jean-François Gobbi
Best movies:
Le Glaive et la balance (1963)
The Confession (1970)
State of Siege (1972)
Mony Rey
Best movies:
Shock Troops (1967)
Mademoiselle (1966)
Not Without My Daughter (1991)