In 1944, a retired German detachment found itself stranded in a French town. The inhabitants try to live in good harmony with the occupants. But one day kids, playing with a grenade, accidentally cause the death of an SS lieutenant.
Acting
Jean Lefebvre's sweaty desperation as the everyman caught in the middle.
Writing
Balancing genuine tension with escalating village incompetence.
Director
Jacques Besnard
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released when French cinema was still wrestling with how to portray occupation — most films went heroic or tragic, this went petty.
Director Jacques Besnard was better known for spy parodies; this was his rare 'prestige' attempt that critics dismissed as tone-deaf.
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