Au revoir là-haut

So different than all the other special effects agenda pushing movies out there. beautiful atmosphere ,full of emotion , wonderful story .hollywood should really learn something from the french. i really don't understand why and how this movie is a low profile one. if you consider if it's worth the time - DEFINITELY ! i enjoyed every minute

This could have easily been a movie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, if you consider the style, fashion, atmosphere, directing, acting, editing and so on...I strongly thought about JP Jeunet's UN LONG DIMANCHE DE FIANCAILLES all long this feature, and not because it is related to WW1 and also post war matters. Everything here is connected in a way or another in the Jeunet's film. That's my own opinion. The story itself, based on the Goncourt Prize winner, is rather surprising, unusual at the most. I don't quite remember the ending of the book and this one seems to be different, if you read the other French user comments on Internet. Maybe the ending is different, but the overall spirit of the novel is followed, faithful. Nothing is changed basically spoken. Only details. Some really moving sequences. And in this tale, you have NO totally good and true heroes. You have a real bad ass, a real heavy character, played by Laurent Laffite, as a ruthless and disgusting former assassin officer who killed two of his own men and who makes money on the war victims. The other characters are maybe better than him, but certainly not totally white. Swindlers, cheaters, liars, Dupontel's character himself can make you Dizzy from time to time. Dupontel was pretty lucky to make this high budget stuff for Gaumont productions. A daring topic. Worth watching for sure. Besides, Bertrand Tavernier had already made a film about post WW1 issue concerning dead bodies or unkown corpses business and - or - swindle: LA VIE ET RIEN D'AUTRE. It was in 1989.

Albert Dupontel has directed a cinematic masterpiece, always visual (enjoy the long shots), always surprising details (sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes poetic), lot of cinema references (Jeunet, Welles, Leone, Kubrick, Franju, ...). All characters are important, and the script is suspenseful in their interaction. My two favorite characters are of course Edouard Péricourt and Pradelle (fantastic Laurent Lafitte, he makes me think of John Hodiak). Enjoy.

This movie will restore your faith in movie making, a most wonderful film that was even better second time around. Acting, photography, special effects, music - everything of the highest order. Would I see it for a third time ? Oh yes.

A magnificent story bathed in the poetry of extraordinary sets and costumes.

In addition to a host of brilliant actors, the subject evoked (the smashed faces) is rarely recounted in the cinema.

Albert Dupontel has created a masterpiece.