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Brizé’s 'A Good Little Soldier' Debuts at Venice With a Standout Lead

The Venice screening tests whether the director’s familiar critique of corporate culture can gain traction even as critics call the film didactic.

Overview

  • The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2026, marking Stéphane Brizé’s fourth appearance on the Lido.
  • Alba Rohrwacher plays Carla Moretti, an HR manager whose work life engulfs her private life and who must handle a recruitment campaign, team-building exercises and internal personnel conflicts.
  • Critics singled out a tense boardroom scene in which CEO Arnaud, played by Vincent Lindon, explodes over a disability-inclusive promo video and praised Rohrwacher’s performance for giving the film emotional texture.
  • A key subplot involves a recorded case of workplace harassment that forces Carla to try to move the victim and exposes the moral limits of HR when performance metrics rule decisions.
  • Reviewers described the film as a clear extension of Brizé’s labor-focused work, noting its formal use of mediated communication to show parental and professional distance and saying strong acting is somewhat undercut by a schematic, didactic tone.