Lacombe Lucien: The Screenplay

by Louis Malle, Louis Malle, Sabine Destrèe (Translation)

Patrick Modiano and Louis Malle’s screenplay for the Oscar-nominated film tells a powerful story set in World War II France of a seventeen-year-old boy who allies himself with collaborators, only to fall in love with a Jewish girl
                  
This early work by the Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano relates the story of Lucien a poor boy in Nazi-occupied France who, rebuffed in his efforts to enter the Resistance for a taste of war, becomes a member of a sordid, pathetic group of Fascist collaborators who join the Gestapo in preying upon their countrymen. Lucien encounters the Horns, a Jewish family from Paris hiding in his provincial town. Inevitably, he must choose between the coarse appeal of violence and his emerging feelings of tenderness for the family’s daughter, France. Amid the excesses brought on by the impending collapse of the Nazi occupation, Lucien and France come to live out an improbable idyll. This classic is an essential read for students and film lovers alike.

Genres: Fiction, France, Plays, Historical Fiction, World War II, War, School

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Louis Malle was an Academy Award nominated French film director, working in both French and English.

Reviews

[Nikos Tsentemeidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Πολύ ενδιαφέρον ιστορικά

[Makis Dionis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Βάζει το δίσκο στο γραμμόφωνο, γυρίζει προς την μεριά του Λυσιέν , φέρνει το δάχτυλο στα χείλη του. Το γραμμόφωνο παίζει το Fleur d'ennui ,του Τζανγκο Ράινχαρντ. Η ατμόσφαιρα και η μουσική δημιουργούν μια αίσθηση ερήμωσης και μελαγχολίας...
Γαλλία 1944.... Τι ατμόσφαιρα...Ο ρομαντισμός ακόμα και σε τραγικούς καιρούς με έντονες αντιφάσεις!!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis Malle and Patrick Modiano collaborated on a screenplay about the lives of a few individuals in 1944 during the German occupation in France. What is so remarkable about this small book is how so few words or body movements depict the devastating complexity of lives torn by war.

The screenplay opens with a seventeen-year-old boy, Lucien, diligently and thoroughly doing menial labor cleaning in a charitable nursing home. Our judgment of the boy changes much in the process of the play but this impression will be one we will be reluctant to divest.

Lucien comes from a small town in southeastern France that is a hotbed of resistance against the occupation. One day, standing on a limestone plateau with a flock of sheep, Lucien sees the wider world stretch out below him. He is just at the age when he realizes he can turn his bicycle in a different direction from the town where he works to seek out a different experience.

The world is full of danger, and one must be constantly vigilant not to fall into a trap, even though ultimately we cannot escape. The ease with which Lucien kills a small bird with his slingshot and leaves it lying in the courtyard is how, at the end, we view this work by Malle and Modiano. Filled with banality, tragedy, and senseless death, we recognize the underlying truth of war and the human condition.

This classic work of literature packs so much humanity into a glance, a phrase, a movement of the arm that it becomes the essential reading experience. It is only 100 pages, short enough to be read in an afternoon or evening, and yet its effects last forever. This is the way to describe people in extremis. It happened just like this.

Re-published by Other Press and due out this week, this is a book you must read to get a glimpse of how great literature manifests.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich hab sehr lange keine Screenplays gelesen, dieses habe ich zufällig gefunden und gelesen, weil ich etwas auf Französisch lesen wollte. Mir hat das Stück sehr gut gefallen. Vor allem wenn man an der Thematik interessiert ist, ist das Stück weiterzuempfehlen. Eine Sache, der Protagonist Lucien soll ein moralisch grauer Charakter sein. Also wenn man das Stück nicht mag nur weil man den Charakter nicht mag, finde ich es bissl weird, weil das ist ja irgendwie der ganze Sinn der Sache.

[mafi · Rating 3 out of 5]

watched the film and now finished the screenplay for one of my classes but i think i'll have to rewatch the film i fear

[Liesl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the novel version of this, I read the Other Press version, which is of the SCREENPLAY "Lacombe Lucien", by Louis Malle and Patrick Modiano-not out til May. So this isn't really a review, it's just an appreciation. It's rural France, 1944. Lucien Lacombe is a bluff, brusque 17-year-old who goes wrong in that poignant Auden way-- like the children "who did not specially want it to happen." His father's gone in the the war, his mother's taken up with what amounts to a local seigneur, so there's no place Lucien belongs. Seeking some kind of affiliation, he tries to get into the Resistance; when that effort fails, he gloms on to a group of venal, fatuous and (some of them) brutal Nazi collaborators. Soon he starts harassing a prosperous Jewish tailor, Monsieur Horn, though it is not clear that Lucien has any objective beyond looking like a tough guy. And then he falls for the tailor's daughter. Lucien does not seem to understand the consequences of his actions with the Horns or of his allegiance to the Nazi collaborators. He is a jerk, but he's also confused, neglected, unripe—and mixed up with vile company. You feel sympathy for him, even as you sense that he is unsalvageable. Intriguing moral gray zone. I look forward to reading the actual Modiano novel; but this screenplay is graceful and potent, reminded me a bit, actually of Irène Nemirovsky (Suite Française).

[Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd little screenplay. There were times when I wanted to throttle Lucien Lacombe for his naivete and down right arrogance. And then there were times when he was a sympathetic, but stupid, character. Don't get me wrong here; anyone who worked for the German police or Gestapo in the French countryside during World War II rounding up Jews deserves nothing but hatred, contempt and spite. But the character Lucien Lacombe was an immature ass when he chose to start working with the German police doing that very thing because the Underground Resistance would not accept him. Lucien's father had abandoned his family to work for the Resistance. Lucien's mother then became a sexual slave of sorts for the property owner the Lacombe family rented property and worked. The Lacombe nuclear family was torn asunder due to the vagaries of war. Nevertheless, Lucien's rejection was complete. So he did the only thing he thought he could do here and still survive, much like the rabbits he poached to eat and live. Yes. War does terrible things to our humanity. Terrible.

The takeaways from this screenplay are: 1) that I need to rent this movie and watch it; 2) Louis Malle was a pretty good screenwriter and, presumptively, a great film director; and 3) Patrick Modiano writes with such incredible delicacy and depth that this will assuredly NOT be the last book of his I read. On the contrary, if anything this screenplay will make you want to read the original story and then more of his work. Alot more of his work!

Thanks to my "goodreads" friend Trish for turning me on to this writer and this particular book. There be many layers to this screenplay and this writer. I am glad I was exposed to Patrick Modiano's work when I was.

[January Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. I stayed up too late reading it. I simply could not put it down.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read a screenplay in a long time, but figured I'd pick this up because it was a) around and b) nominated for a BAFTA. What could go wrong? So many things.

This is a case where the story contained a lot of elements that I don't enjoy as a reader; so I struggled to engage with the plot or the characters. It's set during World War II (a period I obsessed over as a kid and now don't have much of a desire to read) in Nazi-occupied France. The protagonist is a young boy named Lucien who tries to join the resistance but is turned away, and ends up helping the Germans instead. He's clearly seeking a place to belong and a role to play in the war that has taken over his country, but he also wants to hold a gun and feel like a powerful man. There are definitely smart themes at work here that deal with masculinity, violence, and childhood. But I couldn't help feel as though Lucien was kind of a snot-nosed punk trying to play with the big boys. He falls for a Jewish girl (though their relationship frequently seems far from consensual, especially given the fact that he could turn in her entire family), and while he had moments where it seemed like he was a good person deep down, ultimately he wasn't redeemed in my eyes. He continues to be a guy who is so incredibly insecure that he must exert power over the people around him to feel important. If anyone dares to question him, he just pulls out his trusty revolver.

I am curious about the film because I feel like some elements that rubbed me as insincere or unrealistic in the screenplay could be captured by talented actors. The film is widely regarded as a classic, and I do think that many viewers and readers would enjoy the story told here. For me, it was just a bad match.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read quite a number of Patrick Modiano's works I have come to realize that WWII France is the home of a lot of different stories. This one is the only one I have read about the Vichy collaborators. Seventeen-year-old Lucien Lacombe yearning for a taste of war in 1944 southern France is rebuffed by the resistance, and ends up joining the despicable collaborators, only to fall in love with a beautiful 20 year old woman who happens to be a Jew. I gained an appreciation for how complex the lives of the French were during those horrible years. They continue to haunt those that lived through it, and has been an inspiration and fascination for Modiano who was born in the summer of 1945, after the war in France had ended. This screenplay has a very non-traditional ending that I did not see coming.

[naruto johnson]

picked this up at a free book fair at the beginning of the fall semester. finally got around to reading it and I just finished it. I didn’t realize until I really got into it that it’s a screenplay, so I’ll probably be watching the actual movie very soon. pretty good read, considering I’ve been picking it up for 10-30 minutes on and off these past few days.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacombe Lucien: the screenplay by Louis Malle and Patrick Modiano. Other Press| May 2016| 160 pages | $14.95| ISBN: 978-159051-765-9

RATING: ****/5*

I adore books and film but I don’t often read screenplays. Lacombe Lucien is a film about the evils at play among French Nazi collaborators during WWII. It’s an early work by Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano and director/screenwriter Louis Malle. Apparently the film was quite controversial at its release as it depicted the dark underside of war, showing some French nationals doing despicable things to other French nationals. It’s harsh and raw.

Lucien Lacombe, a poor boy in Nazi occupied France, becomes involved with Fascist collaborators who join the Gestapo and inform on their fellow countrymen in horrific ways. There’s torture, murder, imprisonment. Lucien wanted to join the Resistance but his teacher rejected him. He told him he was too young. He added: “And anyway, this is serious business. It’s no lark, Lucien, like going out and poaching . . . . It’s like being in the army, you know. . . .” So Lucien joins up with the bad guys. He carried out small tasks for the Gestapo. This makes the young man feel powerful and indomitable. He’s rather content with the brusque lifestyle and its payouts until he falls for a Jewish girl named France. Will Lucien betray her and her family?

There are some callous remarks about Jewish people. Jean-Bernard: “There are some Jewish girls who are incredibly beautiful. . . . Compared to them, other women look like mares. . . . (Turning to Lucien) That’s right, old boy: mares. . . . I had a Jewish fiancée once, some time back. . . . Incredibly stacked, and incredibly wealthy. . . .” Marie: “Dirty Jew! . . . They all have the syph! . . . Do you hear that? . . . She’s going to give you a case of syph!” Then France herself, likely echoing the sentiment of those persecuted at that time: “Lucien. . . I’m so tired. I can’t stand it anymore. . . .I’m so tired of being a Jew. . . .”

Reading the screenplay definitely makes me want to watch the film. Seeing the film will add vividness. I need to see these characters interacting. The arch in which Lucien and France fall in love seems incredibly quick although I cannot judge without seeing the actors chemistry.

[KarnagesMistress · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like Lucien. He is a despicable character with friends that are only somewhat better. Yet, the story was so well written that I wanted to keep on reading. I find this to be a rare occurrence. This is a screenplay, not a novelization of a screenplay, so if you don't like reading in that format, you won't like this book. It took me a few pages to get in rhythm, but after that, I didn't have any trouble. This book will also satisfy the 2017 Watauga County Public Library Reading Challenge categories: A Book Translated Into English; A Book Set In Europe; A Book That's Under 150 Pages; A Book With A Title That Is A Character's Name. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERDICT: Modiano’s screenplay of a movie nominated for the Oscars in 1975. In typical Modiano’s style, it evokes the complex situation of France during the German occupation, through the life of a French teenager.

my full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2016/05/26/...

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've seen the film so I knew what would happen, but it was still interesting to read the screenplay and notice things I had missed. The film follows a young man as he drifts through the early years of WWII, alternating between passion and apathy. Sometimes there are no heroes.

[Ninix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buch wie Film waren einfach nur langatmig und langweilig. Thema natürlich 2. Weltkrieg, wurde sonst ja in keinem anderen Schulfach abgedeckt...