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Un taxi pour Tobrouk
1960 War / Comedy / Drama
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Credits
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Director: Denys de La Patellière
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Script: Michel Audiard, Denys de La Patellière, René Havard
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Photo: Marcel Grignon, Salvador Torres Garriga
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Music: Georges Garvarentz
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Cast: Hardy Krüger (le capitaine Ludwig von Stiegel),
Lino Ventura (le brigadier Theo Dumas),
Maurice Biraud (François Jonsac),
Charles Aznavour (Samuel Goldmann),
Germán Cobos (Paolo Ramirez),
Enrique Ávila,
Roland Ménard (Récitant),
Carlos Mendy,
Fernando Sancho
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 95 min; B&W
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Aka: Taxi for Tobruk
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Summary
Libya, 1942. Four soldiers in the Free French Forces are crossing the desert when
their jeep breaks down. They have no other option than to continue their journey
for Tobruk on foot. On the way, they encounter a unit of German soldiers – one of
whom they take prisoner, the others they shoot down. Taking possession of the Germans’
jeep, the four French soldiers continue their journey with their reluctant prisoner.
What ensues is an odyssey that is both hazardous and eye-opening, but it’s doubtful whether
any of the five men will live to tell the tale…
Review
Inspired by a popular novel by René Havard, Un
taxi pour Tobrouk is a classic French war film that shows the brutality and absurdity
of war without slipping into sentimentality or laboured anti-war polemic. Whilst
there are a few impressive action scenes, for the most part the film focuses tightly on
the relationship between the five main characters – four disparate Frenchmen and a German
officer – who, through their shared experiences, form a close bond of friendship and mutual
respect. Excellent performances from the five lead actors complement an exceptional
script from Michel Audiard (best known for popular French comedies such as
Les Tontons flingeurs, 1963), making this
a poignant and engaging drama with some harrowingly suspenseful sequences and a few lighter
moments. The abruptness of the ending will shock some spectators, but it serves
as an effective reminder of the true character of War - an insane lottery of carnage and
destruction, the most grotesque affront to humanity.
© James Travers 2007
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