La chambre des officiers

Géraldine goes to war again: this time it's the WWI and the movie is pretty bad: first of all, it's shot in Sepia and it's just awful! It's not because old pictures turned yellow that this past world must be seen that way (or in black and white either)! Then, i'm a bit shocked by this loose Geraldine, who spent a night with this soldier as soon as she left another on a train for the war zone! At the end, she appears for 6 minutes but she was cute in this old fashion! Except for her appearance, the movie is totally depressive as it's a Darkman getting rehabilitated in a hospital room: any fans ???

Having found so much recent French cinema disappointing, I am always pleased to record the discovery of something really fine. Although "The Officers' Ward" belongs to the category of lengthy literary adaptaions, it is infinitely better than examples such as "Germinal", "Les Destinees Sentimentales" or the much hyped Pagnol films which I found particularly over-rated. An anti-war film dealing with facial disfigurement incurred in time of conflict, it chronicles one man's pain and his long period of adjustment to the way he physically presents to the world. In a sense his wound is inflicted not so much by being engaged in battle (he is on a reconnaissance sortie) but by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The other irony is that in the few scenes when we get to know the officer, Adrien, before his injury, he is presented in a none too sympathetic way as a rather boorish and selfish womaniser. In a way his disfigurement offers him a chance of redemption and it is his journey towards this state that gives the film its considerable power. Not that the end result is perfect: there is rather too much concentration on peripheral detail. What is in essence a chamber film is too often broadened out to encompass for example the grand sweep of the journey of the injured from the field to the hospital or to comment on the social injustice of the special treatment of the officer class compared with the rank-and-file. Perhaps too much concentration on conveying atmosphere, however beautifully done, detracts from what in the hands of a director as austere as Bresson for instance would have been an undoubted masterpiece. Nevertheless there is sufficient in Francois Dupeyron's work to assure it a place among the "top ten" of its year, the skill for instance with which the director only allows us imagine what Adrien must look like by observing the reactions on the faces of those who see him, so that by the time half-way through that we are actually given a glimpse we know exactly what to expect as we did in the case of "The Elephant Man". That and two wonderfully moving scenes, one where the three disfigured patients in the officers' ward, who until then have suffered in their own private worlds, suddenly become aware of each other and another where Adrien on his release into the the outside world manages to transform a little girl's fear at his appearance into something approaching fun by making their encounter in a train into a game. In moments such as these the film touches greatness.

This is an intensely moving film which tells the story of a young soldier whose face is terribly disfigured during WW1. In hospital, he meets and befriends several other individuals who have suffered the same fate and the film concentrates on the way that they each come to terms with their situation. The first 40 minutes or so is very slow, so if you start to watch it, please don't be put off... stick with it, the rewards are there. Anyone who is not moved by this must have a heart of stone, since the performances are first rate at every level and there are many touching moments throughout the film. You might think that the subject matter is somewhat depressing and indeed, at some points, it is. However, what comes out is that the strength of the human spirit can carry individuals through the most horrendous experiences and as the film reaches its conclusion, it is ultimately uplifting. Any person who appreciates films of high quality will thoroughly enjoy this.

Based upon a true story which reportedly happened to the novelist's ancestor, "la chambre des officiers" is a strong manifesto against war.The first third of the movie (before Adrien leaves his bed) strongly recalls Dalton Trumbo's masterpiece "Johnny got his gun" but with a weaker direction.The voice over ,the nurse and the visit of the secretary,not to mention the "dream" about the deer ,everything reminds me of "Johnny ..." (1971).But the movie hits its stride afterward ,and,despite of overlong sequences ,grabs the audience till the end when two wonderful sequences (the one with the little girl in the metro (=subway),then the last sequence with the woman who repeats "you're no monster")preserve the viewer from despair.

Whereas war movies have often displayed maimed soldiers,they have rarely (if they have)shown disfigured fighters.In the hospital ,we catch glimpses of the outside world only from the windows;"From a distance,one of the unfortunate victims says ,we all look the same".And when the war's over,the 11th of November 1918,the hero is the only one who does not rejoice.Because His war is not over:it has only begun.And these last sequences ,as I said above, are the most poignant of the entire movie.

"La chambre des officiers" was first a best-seller;it was written by an engineer who had never published anything before.

Beautiful film, after a difficult (almost unbearable) first half hour in WWI Parisian hospital. Beautiful costumes and settings, great acting...very touching at times.

Really modern with its theme around the physical appearance and the way we accept ourselves and the other's look.

A great tribute to the "gueules cassées" (broken faces) of the World War I.

I rank it among the David Lynch's "Elephant Man", or Van Dormael "the eighth day", both festival winners. No less... 9/10