La France (2007)

93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
45% of users liked it
(287 ratings)

A woman whose husband is away fighting in World War I embarks on an arduous journey after receiving a troubling letter in director Serge Bozon's intimate war drama. The year is 1917, and it's springtime in France. Camille's husband may be fighting in the war, but for this naïve young housewife, life… More A woman whose husband is away fighting in World War I embarks on an arduous journey after receiving a troubling letter in director Serge Bozon's intimate war drama. The year is 1917, and it's springtime in France. Camille's husband may be fighting in the war, but for this naïve young housewife, life is peaceful. Upon receiving a letter in which her husband curtly ends the couple's relationship without explanation, Camille decides to disguise herself as a man and seek her true love out on the front lines. It's not long before Camille joins up with a small squadron of soldiers who remain completely unaware of her true identity or gender, and as the group makes their way to the battleground Camille's eyes will finally be opened to a reality she could have never imagined -- the reality of France. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Serge Bozon
Written By: Axelle Ropert, Serge Bozon, Guillaume Verdier
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 6, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Apr 6, 2010
Studio: Shellac Distribution

Critic Reviews

Manohla Dargis, New York Times
In the once-upon-a-time fairy tale called La France, French soldiers move through darkly verdant landscapes worthy of Henri Rousseau.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Without ever surrendering its deadpan naturalism, La France becomes increasingly poetic: The seasons change, the landscape grows barren, and the stars in the sky take their names from the dead men below.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
Tender and lyrical and lonely, it's like a phantom dreamwalk along the borders of war...
John Hartl, Seattle Times
You might want to file this one under Novelties and Cult Items, Not Completely Baked.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Serge Bozon's quietly disturbing fable takes place in northern France in the middle of Word War I.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
The players, Sylvie Testude's Camille plus the eleven French soldiers, are not given much chance to develop their characters beyond two-dimensional.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
Gender and genre are continuously bent in La France, Serge Bozon's uniquely weird and often starkly beautiful experiment.
John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
Simultaneously avant garde and down to earth, the somber film is anchored by spontaneous musical eruptions on its more elusive end and by Sylvie Testudâ(TM)s tactile performance.
Karina Longworth, SpoutBlog
[A] stunningly confident, category-defying, broken-down dream piece about loss and being lost...irresistible.
Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
A drama about the horrors, loneliness and camaraderie of World War I that intermittently (four times, to be specific) blooms into a delirious musical.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
It has the odd but potent effect of revealing an ethereal aspect of the war experience that in its bleakness stirs the mind with far more elusive questions than answers. A tantalizing, visually lyrical elixir for those enamored of mystifying brain teasers

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"La France" takes place in 1917 as Camille(Sylvie Testud) is one of several war brides who climb a local hill daily to see if they can spot their husbands fighting in the nearby war. One day, a letter arrives from her husband, read by her jealous… More
[font=Century Gothic]"La France" takes place in 1917 as Camille(Sylvie Testud) is one of several war brides who climb a local hill daily to see if they can spot their husbands fighting in the nearby war. One day, a letter arrives from her husband, read by her jealous sister(Cecile Reigher), not to write him anymore. Undeterred and quite persistent, she rushes to the front but is stopped before she can leave town. So, she cuts her hair short and dresses in men's clothes. Before long, she meets up with a platoon on its way to the front, their lieutenant(Pascal Greggory) allowing her to tag along...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]On the surface, that is what "La France" is more or less about but deceptively there is more going on than that(the story even takes a turn in a completely different direction at one point). In fact it reminded me quite a bit of Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man" where the viewer was left unsure how much of the movie to take literally, especially concerning whether the characters were even alive or dead. For example, Camille who is not sure of what exactly she is looking for comes back from the dead at one point and pulls one heck of a disappearing act. There are other fantastical elements done on such a subtle level that they are easy to miss. By comparison, the musical numbers(the soldiers carry their own makeshift instruments but where did they get the piano from?) and Camille in male drag(dressed like this, Sylvie Testud reminds me of a young Woody Allen) are relatively normal.[/font]

Cast

Sylvie Testud
as Camille
Pascal Greggory
as The Lieutenant
Guillaume Verdier

See full cast

La France (2007)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

Cast