This documentary shows how the films of Jean-Pierre Melville reflect his years in the French army during World War II. It interweaves recent interviews with Johnnie To, Masahiro Kobayashi and Bertrand Tavernier, rare archive footage of Melville and scenes from his films. Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach, he joined the French Resistance and adopted the name Melville, in tribute to Herman Melville. Throughout his filmmaking career, he clung to his artistic independence, refusing to belong to any system or group. This earned him the reputation as the more or less involuntary father of the French New Wave and made him a symbol for many directors around the world.
