Die Wächterinnen

A war film about the women left behind to struggle to work the land, with a classic tale of class, love and rejection, and final survival.

The film follows the rhythms of the farming year with the most gorgeous photography, lingering on details, faces, animals. I usually like films to have pace, but this one is most rewarding without that, and has strong emotional heft. The passion for the land runs deep both in rural areas, and French literature, and finds its cinematic expression here, notably at the end. The grief and anguish as telegrams come of death and capture Is finely portrayed.

Francine, the hard working orphan , well played, attracts our sympathy and support . If Hortense, the widowed farm owner, is a strong character, Francine is even more so, a survivor.

Xavier Beauvois just does the most beautiful films. As with Of Gods and Men, The Guardians is full of quiet dignity and humanity, and it gets the emotions just right. There are so many films about the battlefront, it's great to see one focussed on the scene back home and on women's work, their hopes, their endurance, their grief, and even their betrayals. The pace is slow, and follows the events of the narrative as much as the seasons and the labour they entail. Beauvois is someone who takes the time to show people who are not often seen on screen go about their everyday life, their toil. When do we get to see women shovelling dirt, feeding fodder to cattle, or doing the harvest? It's sometimes hard to believe this takes place between 1916-20 and the contrast with our post-post-modern world is all the more valuable. We're lucky that a director of such talent chooses topics like this for his work.

I was smitten by Iris Bry as Francine and entranced by the film, thinking about French landscape from a different point of view in those war years. If you love film, sit back and enjoy a wonderful story that differs from the usual WW1fare.

I thought the film was mediocre. The ending definitely left me confused and wondering what happened with the rest of the film.

This movie does not move quickly. But it is beautifully filmed and well acted by a group of actresses headed by Natalie Baye. Not for the impatient, but it will be appreciated by those who can take the time to let it have an effect.

This is life on the home front, in the country The other side of war. No one shot at these women, but their lives were still difficult.

Interesting that the depiction of American soldiers is largely negative. They have plenty of money, and are not interested in "the locals" other than as sex objects.