Melville's first film is simple, austere, and a tour de force

Jean-Pierre Melville's first film, The Silence of the Sea (1949) is simple, austere, and a tour de force. Based on a pseudonymous novel or short story published in France during the war - an incredible act of bravery in itself - the story concerns an elderly man and his 20-something niece living in a small town in an unnamed province, during the Occupation, who are forced to billet a German lieutenant. Throughout the movie the man speaks almost entirely in voice-over narration and the niece, as far as I can recollect, says only one work. Almost all of the movie takes place in their parlor, and the German officer is the only speaker. But Melville does so much with this material: The German tells them about his love of France, about his hopes that the Occupation will build a beautiful relationship between their 2 great countries; he's cosmopolitan, cultured, well-traveled, and well educated, a man of feelings and sensitivity. He seems interested in the niece. But the man and his niece never say a word to the German; in every scene the man puffs on his pipe, the niece works on some embroidery - they refuse to offer him the least civility - a great political statement! I won't give much away, but at one point the German gets a two-week leave and heads to Paris, which has been lifelong ambition. These scenes are amazing; he visits the various sites, and we often catch, just against the margin of the frame, the Nazi flag or a group of German soldiers. The officer spends time in a club w/ other German officers - another fantastic scene, with one of the men singing a mournful ballad and as others watch there's the hint of homo-eroticism. Eventually, a political discussion ensues, and the German officer seems to begin a transformation (the political argument is the one possibly heavy-handed moment in the film). The three lead actors are all great, w/ special props to Nicole Stephane as the niece - her facial expressions are  as restrained yet powerful and emotive as those of Jeanne d'Arc in Dreyer's great silent film. Silence of the Sea is a great report on the agonies that many good French people (silently) endured during the occupation.