Lacombe, Lucien
Director: Louis Malle
Year Released: 1974
Rating: 2.0
Lucien, a stoic young man in occupied France, is turned away from joining the French Resistance, so on a whim he decides to join the Gestapo - while wielding his newfound 'power,' he attempts to seduce the daughter of a famous tailor. Though critically acclaimed by some, this was never convincing to me in any psychological sense: for one, the writing forces the Lucien character to change modes too quickly - one minute he's courteous and the next he's murderous - which is supposed to represent the 'duality of man' - I'm guessing - but comes across as pure screenwriting manipulation. Killing someone for taking a watch is not ambiguous, it's a sign of insanity.
