The Rebel

After the death of his parents, Pierre is forced to care for his younger sister Nathalie by committing petty crimes. In a recurring motif of Gérard Blain’s cinema, Pierre is taken under the wing of an older gay man, Hubert , who offers him work and financial security; but when Hubert makes advances to him, Pierre robs him and takes up with a group of radical leftists who are planning terrorist attacks. Without employment, Pierre loses Nathalie to child services and spirals into desperation, finally erupting in an act of horrific violence. An x-ray showing the largely undiagnosed sickness of its time, and a stern warning to ours.

Director: Gérard Blain

Cast: Patrick Norbert, Michel Subor, Isabelle Rosais, Jean-Jacques Aublanc, Françoise Michaud, Alain Jérôme

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.