Neither leopard nor samurai: this is one of Alain Delon’s best roles, and you probably haven’t seen it!

After the death of Alain Delon, many cite The Leopard, Rocco and its brothers La Piscine and Le Samouraï as his best films, and they are right! But among his long filmography of more than 100 films, one feature film is much less cited, despite being one of his best roles: Alain Cavaliere’s L’Insoumis.

Delon is passionate about his role

In the midst of the Algerian War, Thomas, a young member of the Foreign Legion played by Delon, disobeys the orders of his superiors and deserts. He takes refuge with his friend Maria, who lives in Algeria, and wants to return to Luxembourg, his native country, as soon as possible. Needing money, Thomas agrees to kidnap a lawyer on behalf of the OAS, Dominique Servetti (Lea Massar).

Delon I believe in Cavalieri and his film :

The theme, meeting Alain Cavaliere, all this attracts me and that’s why I’m acting in L’Insoumis, which is also my first film as a producer.

Indeed, at that time Delon was following the theatrical triumph of Melody with Jean Gabin (3.5 million attendees in France) and decided to create his own production company, Delbo, which he founded with his manager Georges Beaume and finances L’Insoumis, even if Beaume is the sole producer, which is clearly visible in the credits.

The film was largely cut upon release

Filmed in black and white, with music by Georges Deleruis, L’Insoumis tells the story of a hunter who hunts, and Delon is imperious, physically embodying power at the beginning of the film, then fear. An evolution that recalls the wide range of what the actor was capable of, who gives a great performance and Alain Cavaliere, though ill for much of the shoot, directs it perfectly, though he knows how to place his close-ups just right. It’s time to capture the emotions of his actors on stage.

The film was released on September 25, 1964, but real-life lawyer Mireille Gleiman recognized herself in the character played by Lea Massar and filed a lawsuit against the production. L’Insoumis was pulled from screens after 15 days in a summary proceeding, overturned by the court and doubled to replace the introduction of the two characters in the middle of the film, a vouvament. It was released in this version, shortened by 20 minutes, in late 1966 and had a total of 711,339 records by the end of its run.