La vita e niente altro

This is a powerful film with a genuinely epic feel. The backdrop of a post-war battle field is movingly sombre, with sets scattered with the last remains of soldiers, some hastily dug graves, and hoards of women mourning the loss of husbands and sons. There is no sense of victory or joy after the war, and its central character, Delaplane - brilliantly played by Philippe Noiret - portrays the mood of grim realism of what the war has done to his country and to his life.

Unfortunately, the film is let down by a somewhat feeble love story involving Delaplane which has an unsatisfactory and unconvincing resolution.

At way over two hours in length, the lack of a substantial central plot is more than noticeable. Towards the end, the film becomes slow and almost boring, despite some impressive visual images. It is almost as if the grimness of the subject matter has completely overwhelmed the film. However, considering how grim the subject matter is, that is hardly surprising.

A wonderfully acted and well written drama set in France in the aftermath of World War One. It's a romance about the importance of memory in morality and love and coming to terms with loss on an individual and national scale.

I was fascinated by this film--probably because I am a history teacher and teach about WWI (among other topics). But I wonder if most other people would really care about the plot. You see, it's about the aftermath of WWI and the setting concerns soldiers sifting through the French countryside trying to find and identify all the bodies. The officer in charge is a bit fixated on all this and into his obsessive little world come two ladies who are looking for a husband and a fiancé who have been missing since 1917. The attention to details in the film is interesting and there are many little touches that make it a must see for history lovers. However, I must also point out that for me, the relationships that develop and unfold during the movie don't always work all that well. Plus, another recent French film dealing with the same topic (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) is a vastly superior film. It would be great if you could see them both, but if you only want to see one film, see A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT--it's better in most every way.

When I saw this movie at the Montreal Film Festival, I was impressed by this contemplative movie. Like any contemplation, it sees everything about human nature and subtly refers to it. No flash, no gadgets, no lectures, just the plain vision of things as they are. He just lets you to be the judge of things. Then, I became a great fan of Tavernier's movies. This movie occupied my mind for ever after and never left me. This movie also confirmed how useless and dreadful this war was, and maybe how ridiculous most wars are. Perhaps my favourite movie ever. Anyway, a must see.

This movie has a sequel called Captain Conan which also shows Tavernier's prowess in making art and intelligent cinema where a lot of characters are involved and seem so natural.

This is a fascinating film that tells a story that is unsuspected nowadays: the census of the dead of the 1914-1918 war, the number, the identity of the dead, and as a subplot, the search for the body of what will become the unknown soldier of the Arc De Triomphe. And more generally, the film shows us elements of the immediate aftermath of the war that look very much like the state of war. Something that we are not used to see anymore.

The whole is told from the point of view of three characters: Philippe Noiret, the commander in charge of the census; Sabine Azéma, a rich bourgeois woman who is looking for her missing husband, and Pascale Vignal, a schoolteacher and waitress, who is also looking for her fiancé. Their stories will eventually come together.

We can trust Bertrand Tavernier for the quality of the reconstruction and the atmosphere of this post-war period, not at all brilliant. But the film is exciting, moving and strong, from small elements and small touches, not spectacular, but which produce a whole with a lot of emotions.