''The Just Assassins'' (original French title: ''Les Justes'', more literal translations would be ''The Just'' or ''The Righteous'') is a 1949 play by
French writer and philosopher
Albert Camus
Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...
.
The play is based on the true story of a group of Russian
Socialist-Revolutionaries
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
who assassinated the
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (''Сергей Александрович''; 11 May 1857 – 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor of All Russia, Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure ...
in 1905, and explores the moral issues associated with murder and terrorism. In the play, all but one (Stepan) of the "Justes" are based upon historical terrorists, described in ''Memoirs of a Terrorist'' by
Boris Savinkov
Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (Russian: Бори́с Ви́кторович Са́винков; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian writer and revolutionary. As one of the leaders of the Fighting Organisation, the paramilitary win ...
.
Plot with analysis
Act I
''In the apartment used by the terrorists''
The 'justes' are a group of revolutionaries plotting to assassinate the Grand Duke with a bomb. The first attempt is meticulously set up, with
Kaliayev selected to throw the bomb.
Act II
''as before''
After a period of uncertainty as to the outcome of the first attempt, Kaliayev returns, saying he could not throw the bomb at the carriage, as it contained the Grand Duke's nephew and niece. Stepan is disgusted by this, pointing out that thousands of Russian children have died as a result of Tsarist oppression, but the others take Kaliayev's side, as killing children would harm their cause.
Act III
''as before''
Kaliayev prepares for the second attempt and tries again, two days after the first try. He successfully kills the duke. Voinov leaves the group to join the Party's propaganda division.
Act IV
''in a prison''
Kaliayev is in prison. He has a brief discussion with Foka before Skouratov enters. Skouratov discusses Kaliayev's actions with him before the Grand Duchess enters. She shows Kaliayev the human side of his crime (the actual death of the Grand Duke) and asks him to agree to being a murderer, not a revolutionary, in exchange for his life. Kaliayev is moved by her talk of her husband but stays firm. He says, "Let me prepare myself to die. If I did not die-- it's then I'd be a murderer." Skouratov reenters and makes Kaliayev an offer: either Kaliayev confesses and reveals the whereabouts of his fellows, or Skouratov will publish an article saying he repented his acts to the Grand Duchess, thereby making his fellows believe he betrayed them and their cause.
Act V
''At the apartment''
It is the night of Kaliayev's execution. Annenkov, Dora and Stepan await news of him. Voinov returns for the same reason. Some suggest that Kaliayev may have betrayed them to save his own life, but Dora knows this is not true. This is confirmed shortly afterwards by news of Kaliayev's death. Dora, normally the most gentle of the group, takes on a Stepan-like attitude. She vows to throw herself into terrorism and either to destroy tyranny single-handed to avenge Kaliayev, or be caught, executed and thereby united with him.
Cast
The original production of ''Les Justes'' was directed by Paul Œttly and first released on December 15, 1949.
*
Maria Casarès
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
as Dora Doulebov
*
Michèle Lahaye as the Grand Duke
*
Serge Reggiani
Serge Reggiani (2 May 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an Italian-French actor and singer. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight.
After studying acting at the Conservatoire des arts cinématog ...
as
Ivan Kaliayev
*
Michel Bouquet
Michel Bouquet (6 November 1925 – 13 April 2022) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1947 to 2020. He won the Best Actor European Film Award for '' Toto the Hero'' in 1991 and two Best Actor Césars fo ...
as Stepan Fedorov
*
Yves Brainville
Yves Brainville (8 March 1914 – 16 November 1993) was a French film and television actor.Hayward p.245
Selected filmography
* ''Entrée des artistes'' (1938) - Sylvestre
* ''Accord final'' (1938) - Chenal - l'ami de Georges
* ''Eduardo VII'' ...
as Boris Annenkov
* as Alexis Voinov
* as Skouratov
*
Moncorbier as Foka
*
Louis Perdoux Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ...
as Prison Guard
Characters
The "Justes"
Ivan Kaliayev ('Yanek') – The lead character of the play. It is he who throws the bomb that kills the Grand Duke, and goes to prison for it. Kaliayev is also known among the terrorists as 'the poet'. He, like the other 'justes', has sacrificed a good life to fight the tyranny of the
Tsarist
Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...
regime. Despite the sadness and danger of terrorism, Kaliayev repeatedly affirms his love for life — indeed, he is fighting so as to bring a better life to others. He and Stepan Fedorov frequently come into conflict. He used to be the lover of Dora Doulebov. Kaliayev is seen making a number of religious gestures, such as crossing himself. He is also extremely moral, and uncomfortable with the idea of killing a man. His only consolation is that, in killing the Grand Duke, he will reduce suffering for thousands of others ('La Russie sera belle') and that he will pay for the human side of his crime with his life. Even then, he makes certain that he kills only the Grand Duke. Ivan Kalyayev was the real name of the terrorist, as Camus notes in his introduction.
Stepan Fedorov – The only fictional revolutionary of the play, introduced by Camus to show his problems with the Communist party. Stepan enters the play having spent three years in prison before escaping to Switzerland (a reference to
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
). As a consequence, he is very bitter and unable to appreciate the good aspects of life. He feels that 'freedom is a prison while even one man on Earth is enslaved', and frequently talks about insane acts of indiscriminate destruction, such as asking Dora 'how many bombs would it take to blow up Moscow?'. He also persistently asks to be allowed to throw the bomb, but the other members of the group see him as too unstable to be allowed to do so.
Dora Doulebov – Former lover of Kaliayev. She has had training in chemistry, and therefore acts as the group's bomb-maker. Dora, more than any other of the revolutionaries, remembers and talks fondly of her life before joining the Party. Though normally very gentle, Dora adopts a Stepan-like persona at the end of the play, wishing to avenge Kaliayev's death or die trying.
Boris Annenkov – The leader of the Party. Annenkov makes all the decisions about the assassination, such as who will throw the bomb. He acts in a mediating role in conflicts between Kaliayev and Stepan, and generally serves to calm the feelings of the other members of the group.
Alexis Voinov – A former university student, Voinov was thrown out of university for anti-Tsarist comments. Voinov places a very high value on truth, and feels he must fight tyranny actively. However, when he finds himself unable to throw his bomb in the first assassination attempt, he realises that he is not suited for direct violent action — he is afraid of the moment of deciding to throw the bomb, and he is ashamed of this. He decides instead to transfer to the propaganda division of the Party, saying that although the risks are the same, he does not have to see them.
Other characters
The Grand Duchess –
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
, Widow of Grand Duke Serge. She appears in only one scene, confronting Kaliayev in prison about his actions. She emphasises the human side of the Grand Duke's death, talking about his little habits and good qualities. She asks Kaliayev to admit to being a murderer rather than a revolutionary, in exchange for a pardon, and to accept Christianity. Kaliayev finds his justification severely weakened, but manages to reject her offer.
Skouratov – A member of the secret police who visits Kaliayev in prison. Skouratov represents the hopelessness of struggling against a despotic society. He asks Kaliayev to betray his comrades in exchange for freedom for all of them, but Kaliayev refuses to do so. Skouratov then has published, or threatens to have publish, a newspaper article saying Kaliayev did betray them, so as to destroy the unity of the group. However, if he does so, the group do not believe him.
Foka – A man Kaliayev meets in prison who has murdered someone while drunk. Foka is sceptical towards Kaliayev's socialism, and is instead very acceptant of the world (when Kaliayev describes the socialist vision to him, Foka simply says it is heaven). He is serving a 20-year sentence, but acts as a hangman, getting a year off his sentence for each criminal he hangs.
Prison guard – An intriguingly important character. He represents the class struggle that was prevalent in Russia at the time; never striking but always in the background, in control.
Adaptation
The play was the basis for the 1983 Mexican film ''
Bajo la metralla
''Bajo la metralla'' (English: Under the shrapnel) is a 1983 Mexican thriller film directed by Felipe Cazals. It tells the story of a guerilla group that hides in a safe house with a hostage after a failed attack on a government official. The film ...
'', directed by
Felipe Cazals
Felipe Cazals (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. His wife was Rosa Eugenia Báez de Cazals.
Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative f ...
.
The 2017 Telugu (Indian) movie ''
Raktham - The Blood
''Raktham - The Blood'' is a 2019 Indian Telugu language Naxal propaganda political thriller film, written, and directed by Rajesh Touchriver, starring Maganti Banarjee, Madhu Shalini, and Sanju Sivaram in pivotal roles. Upon release, the film re ...
'' directed by
Rajesh Touchriver
Rajesh Touchriver (born M. S. Rajesh) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works in English, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi language films. He received various National and International honors for his works. In 20 ...
is also an adaptation of this Albert Camus play.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Just Assassins, The
1949 plays
French plays adapted into films
Plays by Albert Camus