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-g ...
, written and directed by
Bruno Dumont
Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. To date, he has directed ten feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde. His films have won several awards at the Canne ...
. It tells the story of André Demester, a man whose girlfriend betrays him out of frustration with his lack of emotion. He is then sent to fight in an unnamed
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern country, where he experiences (and participates in) the horrors of war.
Plot
Running a dilapidated farm, the taciturn André leads a hard and lonely life, enlivened only by visits from Barbe, a neighbour's young daughter with whom he has quick couplings in a copse. Resenting André's lack of affection, she picks up Blondel in a bar where they are drinking and has noisy sex outside in his car. Both men are called up to fight in a Middle Eastern country, leaving Barbe pregnant.
André and Blondel's platoon go on a long patrol in the bare mountains, shooting men and children and raping a woman. They are captured by insurgents, who emasculate the rapist before shooting him and execute most of the rest. Only André and Blondel are left when a helicopter arrives overhead and the two seize the chance to flee. When Blondel is hit in the leg, André runs on alone.
Barbe meanwhile has undergone an abortion and, falling into depression, been confined in a psychiatric hospital. She is released when a traumatised André returns to run his farm. Though they have passionless sex in their old meeting place, he cannot open up to her about the horror of his experiences and his abandonment of the wounded Blondel. She gets a girl friend to try and draw out André's feelings and, after they talk, he is able to cry over the victims on both sides. Next time Barbe comes round, he confesses that he loves her and she responds.
Cast
*
Adélaïde Leroux
Adélaïde Leroux (born 30 December 1982) is a French actress, best known for her role in the 2006 film ''Flanders''. She also played prominent roles in a number of other films, including Martin Provost's '' Séraphine'' (2008), Ursula Meier's ' ...
as Barbe
*
Samuel Boidin
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;Henri Cretel as Blondel
* Jean-Marie Bruveart as Briche
* David Poulain as Leclercq
* Patrice Venant as Mordac
* David Legay as Lieutenant
* Inge Decaesteker as France
Awards
The film won the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the ...