Despite Pierre L'Homme's atmospheric monochrome photography, Alain Cavalier's directorial debut lacked the visual panache to get it noticed at the tail end of the Nouvelle Vague.
Yet, politically, this astute blend of Melville, Truffaut and Godard was extremely courageous for its time, and its insights into the mindset of both ultra-conservatives and ruthless terrorists have chilling contemporary resonance.
Jean-Louis Trintignant is typically imposing as the right-wing activist whose determination to wreak revenge on a traitor within his underground cell drives his actress wife into the arms of a liberal lover.