The Guardians
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Synopsis
An affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of Hortense, the family's matriarch (Nathalie Baye,) must grapple with the workload while the men, including two sons, are off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, the hard-scrabble teenage orphan, Francine (Iris Bry), to help her daughter Solange (Laura Smet). New tools allow the women to triumph over the land, newfound independence is acquired, yet emotions are stirred especially when the men return from the front on short leaves. Acclaimed filmmaker Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men) revels in the mysteries and beauties of the French countryside, here unravaged by war, with painterly images bathed in natural light, yet keeps his focus on the intricate drama that plays out against the upheaval of the Great War.
Cast
- Nathalie Baye
- Laura Smet
- Iris Bry
- Cyril Descours
- Gilbert Bonneau
- Olivier Rabourdin
- Nicolas Giraud
- Mathilde Viseux
- Xavier Maly
- Marie-Julie Maille
Atom User Reviews
Metacritic
Jun 20, 2018
This handsomely staged production plays like a soothingly thoughtful balm.
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
May 16, 2018
The performances are extraordinary, as they often are in Beauvois’ films, with Baye a study in quiet suffering and Bry wonderfully enigmatic — seemingly simple, but hinting at a soul capable of expansion and adaptation.
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
May 4, 2018
Inspired by prize-winning French author Ernest Pérochon’s 1924 novel, director Xavier Beauvois’ emotionally devastating adaptation — which some may find as arduous as the wartime chapter it depicts — dispenses with a fair amount of the suffering to be found in the book, forgoing the contemporary tendency toward gritty, handheld realism in favor of a more timeless, almost painterly aesthetic.
Peter Debruge
Variety
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