L'Insoumis / The Unvanquished

This French film L’Insoumis, directed by Alan Cavalier, was one of the first that dealt with the Algerian War (1954–62). Thomas Vlassenroot, a citizen of Luxembourg, played by Alain Delon, enlists in the French Foreign Legion after his divorce. He is posted to Algeria, but during the 1961 uprising he becomes disillusioned and deserts. While in hiding he receives a visit from his former lieutenant, who is also a defector but now works for the Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS), a paramilitary group that fights Algerian Independence by using terrorist attacks. The lieutenant enlists Vlassenroot for the OAS, who agrees to kidnap a female lawyer representing Algerian nationalists. The film received a good deal of critical reception, and state censors insisted on a number of cuts which compromised the artistic integrity of the film.