''Captain Conan'' (original title: ''Capitaine Conan'') is a 1996 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It is based on the 1934

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

-winning novel ''Captain Conan'' (Fr. ''Capitaine Conan'') by

Roger Vercel Roger Vercel (born Roger Cretin; 8 January 1894, in Le Mans – 26 February 1957, in Dinan) was a French writer. Biography Vercel was fascinated by the sea and marine life. Although he virtually never went to sea, most of his novels featured a m ...

Plot

In the French infantry on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers to aid Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, in the autumn of 191 ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Conan, an officer of the elite Chasseurs Alpins, is the charismatic leader of a special squad, many from military prisons, who raid enemy lines at night taking no prisoners. Despising career soldiers, his only friend is the young academic Norbert. When the

Armistice with Bulgaria The Armistice of Salonica (also known as the Armistice of Thessalonica) was signed on 29 September 1918 between Bulgaria and the Allied Powers in Thessaloniki. The convention followed a request by the Bulgarian government for a ceasefire on 24 ...

is signed in September 1918, his unit is sent to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, capital of France's ally

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

, as part of the

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Le ...

. Neither fighting nor demobilised, morale plummets and courts-martial begin. After a successful defence, Norbert is coerced into becoming the prosecutor by the threat that, if he does not, Conan will be charged. In a brutal raid on a crowded nightclub, some of Conan's men seized the takings, crippling a female singer and killing the female cashier. With the help of the Romanian police and a French prostitute, Norbert finds the men but gets them light sentences. A widow arrives from France looking for her son, whom she finds awaiting trial for desertion. After listening to her story, Norbert thinks that the boy may be blameless and that his officer is out to get him shot. Conan, who hates the officer, agrees and takes Norbert over the old front line where the boy got lost in action. Both become convinced of his innocence. Fighting breaks out again when the French move up to the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...

and come under attack from the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. During the action, Conan empties the prison and leads his men to one final victory. In a sombre coda, years later back in France, Norbert visits Conan to find him no longer the dashing hero but the sick owner of a little shop.

Cast

* Philippe Torreton: Conan * Samuel Le Bihan: Norbert * Bernard Le Coq: Lieutenant de Scève * Catherine Rich : Madeleine Erlane * François Berléand: Commandant Bouvier * Claude Rich: General Pitard de Lauzier * Cécile Vassort: Georgette * André Falcon: Colonel Voirin * Claude Brosset: Father Dubreuil * Crina Muresan: Ilyana * Cécile Vassort: Georgette * François Levantal: Forgeol * Pierre Val: Jean Erlane * Roger Knobelspiess: Major Cuypene *

Frédéric Pierrot Frédéric Pierrot (born 17 September 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 120 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film '' Tell Me I'm Dreaming'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard (, meaning ...

: Conductor * Jean-Claude Calon: officier Loisy *

Laurent Schilling Laurent may refer to: * Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname ** Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent ** Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician ** Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discove ...

: Beuillard *

Jean-Yves Roan Jean-Yves is a French masculine given name. Notable persons with that name include: * Jean-Yves André (born 1977), Mauritian footballer * Jean-Yves Anis (born 1980), French footballer * Yves Jean-Bart (born 1947), Haitian football executive * Jean ...

: Rouzic *

Philippe Héliès Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count o ...

: Grenais * Tonio Descanvelle: Caboulet *

Eric Savin The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

: Gunsmith *

Olivier Loustau Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...

: Mahut *

Jean-Marie Juan Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law * Jean-Marie C ...

: Lethore *

Laurent Bateau Laurent Bateau is a French actor. He has appeared in more than eighty films since 1992. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateau, Laurent Living people French male film actors French male television ac ...

: Perrin, soldier *

Eric Dufay The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

: Lieutenant Fideli *

Philippe Frécon Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count ...

: Ménard, the cook *

Patrick Delage Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

: Messinge, the waiter *

Patrick Brossard Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...

: Riquiou *

Yvon Crenn Yvon may refer to: * Yvon (given name), a masculine given name * Yvon (surname), a surname See also * Chapelle-Yvon * Evon * Ivon * Jaille-Yvon * Pierre-Yvon * Yvan * Yvonne (disambiguation) Yvonne is a female given name. Yvonne may als ...

: Floch * Christophe Odent: Cabanel *

Franck Jazédé Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also * Franc (disambiguation) * Franks * Frank (disambiguation) * F ...

: Havrecourt *

Dominique Compagnon "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-bor ...

: Morel * Frédéric Diefenthal: sergeant gare Bucarest * Luminiţa Anghel: singer in a bar * Radu Duda: Insp. Stefanesco

Reception

The film has two out of three fresh reviews on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, even though there are more reviews listed. Janet Maslin, of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', said that Mr. Torreton powerfully embodies the film's central questions of what a fighter becomes without combat and where the values inherent in savage battle may lead. Ken Fox, of

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

, said beautiful as it is brutal and that it is one of the best war films of recent years. Alex Albanese, of

Box Office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is f ...

, said that the film is finely wrought—as hard, precise and heartbreaking as its title character.

Awards and nominations

Bertrand Tavernier won the

César Award for Best Director This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Director (French: ''César du meilleur réalisateur''). History Superlatives Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nominatio ...

and Phillippe Torreton won the César Award for Best Actor. The film was also nominated for six other

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

including Best Film, Best Writing and Most Promising Actor. The film was nominated for Film Presented at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

DVD release

The DVD is in French with English subtitles,

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

, and has a 2.0-channel PCM audio mix. The only special feature on the DVD is ''Un Film Sur Bertrand Tavernier'', a fifty-four-minute documentary about the making of the film. The release date of the DVD was December 19, 2000.

References

External links

* * * {{Bertrand Tavernier 1996 films Films directed by Bertrand Tavernier French war films 1990s French-language films Romanian-language films World War I films set on the Eastern Front Russian Civil War films Films set in 1918 Films whose director won the Best Director César Award 1990s war films 1990s English-language films 1990s French films