The Carabineers 1963

Les Carabiniers (1963) follows two poor men, Ulysses Marino Masé and Michel-Ange Patrice Moullet, who are drawn into battle by letters from the king of their fictional country. These letters promise they will be free from consequences while fighting, in exchange for anything they desire—swimming pools, Maseratis, and women—at the enemy’s expense.

Their wives, Venus Geneviève Galéa and Cleopatra Catherine Ribeiro, are quickly persuaded by the lure of wealth and status, and urge their husbands to go to war. The two men march off, crossing war-torn villages and plains, plundering as they go. Their misadventures are later told back home through a string of postcards sent to their wives, painting glamorous scenes of life in far-off places.

But the reality of war breaks through. Those postcard fantasies fade as Ulysses and Michel-Ange find themselves poorer and injured, returning home with a suitcase full of images of the world’s splendors they have chased, while army officials remind them they must wait for the war’s end to receive pay.

A sudden, spectacular moment seems to signal an end: the sky explodes with sparks, and the couples rush into town believing the war is over. Instead, they are informed by their superiors that their king has lost, and war criminals must be punished. The film closes on a grim note as Ulysses and Michel-Ange are executed for their crimes.