This Great War drama opens in the trenches during an artillery bombardment. Receiving bayonet wounds, young Simon (Guillaume Depardieu) drops out of the action, joining other injured soldiers at a Brittany hospital. One day he meets schoolteacher Marthe (Clotilde Courau), who lives in the household of the hospital's head doctor (Bernard Giraudeau). Soon a romance begins to develop. Cinematography by Kevin Jewison, son of director Norman Jewison.
Cinematography
Kevin Jewison's muted palette makes grief almost tactile.
Acting
Depardieu's wounded stillness against Courau's controlled fire.
Director
Jean-Loup Hubert
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kevin Jewison, cinematographer here, is son of Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, Moonstruck).
Released when French cinema was obsessed with WWI's psychological wreckage—see also A Very Long Engagement.
FR
