In June 1944, a young doctor, Chevalier, under the threat of guns, is forced to treat a wounded man in a camp of resistance fighters (maquisards). He recognizes the man, minister of the Third Republic, called Morel by his companions. Carnot, the chief of the maquisards, is suspicious of a doctor who expressly disapproves of the resistance and wants to have him shot as soon as he has treated Morel. Philippe, who is second in command, intervenes in favor of the Chevalier. Meanwhile, peasants denounce the maquisards to the Nazis and the camp is surrounded by the Germans. The camp is saved thanks to Philippe who takes command of the group. He decides to leave the shelter and they begin the long march through the Cévennes to rally maquisard Napoleon in the Vercors...
Acting
Riveting standoff between Ronet and Hossein's barely contained menace.
Direction
Astruc's literary precision turns Cévennes landscape into character.
Writing
Dialogue crackles with Sartrean ethical tension.
Director
Alexandre Astruc
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Astruc was a Cahiers du Cinéma critic turned director; this adapts his own wartime experiences, blending New Wave intellectualism with classical tension.
Shot in the actual Cévennes locations where Astruc hid during the Occupation—the geography is autobiography.
FR
