Lucien Lacombe is an 18-year-old farm-boy in rural France during World War II who becomes a collaborating member of the Gestapo when his attempt to join the Resistance is turned down. Avoiding easy psychological interpretations, Malle instead allows the story to unfold in all its moral complexity. The film provoked a storm of controversy in France for its less than heroic portrayal of the French people under occupation, but elsewhere its brilliance was recognised, winning the British Academy Award for Best Film of 1974.