Un homme de trop

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)