CinemaSerf

Sep 3, 2026

7.0

Though it does leave it until the end, Antonin Baudry does put up a disclaimer acknowledging that there's a fair degree of cinematic licence been taken with this depiction of the rise of Charles de Gaulle from upstart provincial soldier to leader of the Free French during the Nazi occupation of his country. We start in 1940 with France effectively partitioned. The Vichy - under the government of Marshal Petain is in the South and it is trying keep what it can of it's territory from their invaders - at just about any price. De Gaulle (Simon Abkarian) has escaped to London and views them all as capitulators unworthy to claim any rights to the leadership of the French people, but his views have little traction at home or abroad. Meantime, British Prime Minister Churchill (Sir Simon Russell Beale) needs to stop the substantial French fleet from falling into enemy hands - but Admiral Darlan (Mathieu Kasovitz) seems unlikely to just hand it over to the British who are now the only power left in Europe resisting the Führer and his henchmen. Might de Gaulle be a weapon Churchill can employ? He's a formidable speaker after all. Well, he concludes that he hasn't actually got very much to lose so he recognises him as leader of his nation and leaves him to galvanise what he can from his sceptical compatriots amidst fury from Petain and Darlan. What now ensues illustrates how by sheer force of personality this man tried to secure the support of the colonies in Africa like Chad and Cameroon; to secure access to the port of Dakar for the Americans - who may, or may not, be considering entering the war and, of course, fighting a fairly constant rearguard action against those who would scheme to depose him - especially when things go wrong (and they do!). Simultaneously, back in Paris there is a young provacteur called Fernand (Florian Lesieur) who is trying to raise some sort of fighting spirit amongst his fellow citizens, but is facing a sea of indifference from a population that hasn't, thus far, really seen any edge to the presence of the Swastika and who are inclined to just keep their heads down. Can he manage to kickstart some sort of public opposition to not just their visitors but also to the Vichy administration that left them all in the lurch in the first place? Abkarian is on very convincing form as the bloody-minded and determined soldier who proves adaptable and obnoxious in equal measure and the scenes he has with Sir Simon's equally rumbunctious and sartorially adventurous Churchill speculate, for sure, but give us an indication that allies they might have been but allied - well not necessarily! It also showcases the lesser-known but vital contribution of a modest French force in North Africa as Rommel advanced on Tobruk and that sequence shows off some of this film's solid production standards and Benoît Magimel's depiction of battle-hardened General Koenig fits in well with this film's overall emphasis on the characterisation of the individuals concerned as the war begins to look even more ominous for a free European continent. If you watched Edward Berger's "All Quiet on the Western Front" (2022) then you might appreciate that many of these familiar events are being told from a perspective we rarely see and that when considered in that context, this gives us some idea of just how tough it was and though the enemy of my enemy might be my friend, agreement is neither guaranteed nor even always wanted when interests clash. Interestingly, this rather suggests a relationship between Churchill and US President Roosevelt that I doubt either would be especially proud of, or acknowledging of, and it tees things up for a second part that must see both having to deal with this man as an equal in a part two that must see his quest for political power take shape.