‘Through the Character of Lucien in Lacombe, Lucien, Malle Presents Us with an Ambiguous Portrayal of the Collaborateur’. Discuss
‘Through the character of Lucien, Malle presents us with an ambiguous portrayal of the collaborateur’. Discuss
“Despite an ever increasing amount of literature on the history of the Second World War in general and of Nazi rule in occupied Europe in particular, there is still no agreement on the exact meaning of the term ‘collaboration.’”[1]
From this statement it is clear that the collaboration was an undeniably ambiguous time in French history, more so than the rest of the Second World War. It was unclear as to whether the French wanted a collaboration or not, as we see in Louis Malle’s Lacombe Lucien. By watching the film we see how Malle portrays a very distinct and clear image of France during the collaboration showing that there were collaborators and that there were also resistors. However it can be said that this clear image of France during the Second World War still does not eradicate the ambiguity of the collaboration. What was the ratio of collaborators and resistors, how did people become collaborators and how did this affect France? Various historians have tried to answer questions like these, but most have found it extremely difficult to give concrete answers to questions on this topic.
The collaboration was thought to be a political arrangement between two nations: “the victorious one which had occupied foreign territory and the defeated nation which tried to preserve as much independence as possible.”[2] However it would be much to say that France tried to preserve as much independence as possible. France was consumed into Hitler’s evil regime and was manipulated to join forces and become a place where Fascism was the norm. In the film Lacombe Lucien, this is clearly illustrated, as we see innocent and ignorant people fall into the midst of the collaboration without knowing any better. A perfect example of this manipulation would be the main character in the film Lucien.
“Essentially the tale of a young boy who wants to join
“Despite an ever increasing amount of literature on the history of the Second World War in general and of Nazi rule in occupied Europe in particular, there is still no agreement on the exact meaning of the term ‘collaboration.’”[1]
From this statement it is clear that the collaboration was an undeniably ambiguous time in French history, more so than the rest of the Second World War. It was unclear as to whether the French wanted a collaboration or not, as we see in Louis Malle’s Lacombe Lucien. By watching the film we see how Malle portrays a very distinct and clear image of France during the collaboration showing that there were collaborators and that there were also resistors. However it can be said that this clear image of France during the Second World War still does not eradicate the ambiguity of the collaboration. What was the ratio of collaborators and resistors, how did people become collaborators and how did this affect France? Various historians have tried to answer questions like these, but most have found it extremely difficult to give concrete answers to questions on this topic.
The collaboration was thought to be a political arrangement between two nations: “the victorious one which had occupied foreign territory and the defeated nation which tried to preserve as much independence as possible.”[2] However it would be much to say that France tried to preserve as much independence as possible. France was consumed into Hitler’s evil regime and was manipulated to join forces and become a place where Fascism was the norm. In the film Lacombe Lucien, this is clearly illustrated, as we see innocent and ignorant people fall into the midst of the collaboration without knowing any better. A perfect example of this manipulation would be the main character in the film Lucien.
“Essentially the tale of a young boy who wants to join
Bibliography: o Hirschfield, G and Marsh, P., Collaboration in France, Oxford, Berg Publishers Limited, 1989 o Hobart, T., Lacombe Lucien Film Review, The New York Times, http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/98399/Lacombe-Lucien/overview o French, P., Malle on Malle, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 o Malle, L., Lacombe Lucien, U.S.A, 20th Century Fox, 1974 o Altman, C. F., Lacombe Lucien: Laughter as Collaboration, U.S.A, American association of Teachers of French, 1976 ----------------------- [1] G. Hirschfield & P. Marsh, Collaboration in France (Oxford: Berg Publishers Limited, 1989), p. 3 [2] Ibid, p [7] C. F. Altman, Lacombe Lucien: Laughter as Collaboration (U.S.A: American association of Teachers of French, 1976), p. 551 [8] L