Politics are never far from the surface in Godard's films. One of his earliest features, "Le Petit Soldat", which dealt with the Algerian War of Independence, was notable for its attempt to present the complexity of the dispute rather than pursue any specific ideological agenda. Along these lines, "Les Carabiniers" presents a fictional war that is initially romanticized in the way its characters approach their service, but becomes a stiff anti-war metonym. In addition to the international conflicts to which Godard sought an artistic response, he was also very concerned with the social problems in France. The earliest and best example of this is Karina's potent portrayal of a prostitute in "Vivre sa vie".