Les Combattants (2014) makes an interesting connection. The battle of young adolescents with love and society versus the real, physical battle in the army. The battle is larded with physical craving and inexplicable attraction. What do I feel? Why do I like this girl? Why do I want to make love to that boy? The enemy is in both cases invisible but palpable. Les Combattants shows that the army, in which everything is based on rules and hierarchy, is not natural. People follow a different path.
Madeleine is fixated on being fit, on exhaustion. She swims with two roof tiles in a backpack across the bottom of the sea. She wants to join the army for the tough, physical challenges. After the death of his father Arnaud and his brother continue his gardening business. He meets Madeleine for the first time during a wrestling contest at the beach, which is spontaneously organized by the army as promotion. She overpowers him and Arnaud can only free himself by biting her. It is indeed love at first fight.
Arnaud follows Madeleine in the army for a trial period. They fight their own battle and end up surviving together in the woods. Building a shelter, catching fish, making fire ... So they really get together and make love. When Madeleine gets sick, Arnaud rescues her. They survive, literally and figuratively speaking.
Adele Haenel is an interesting actress. She gets on well with the role as the headstrong, naive young woman Madeleine. Kevin Azais plays also fine as masculine, loyal Arnaud. A coming-of-age film threatens to get bogged down quickly in clichés. Director Thomas Cailley proves in his feature debut, that you can do well on themes that are not original.
Madeleine is fixated on being fit, on exhaustion. She swims with two roof tiles in a backpack across the bottom of the sea. She wants to join the army for the tough, physical challenges. After the death of his father Arnaud and his brother continue his gardening business. He meets Madeleine for the first time during a wrestling contest at the beach, which is spontaneously organized by the army as promotion. She overpowers him and Arnaud can only free himself by biting her. It is indeed love at first fight.
Arnaud follows Madeleine in the army for a trial period. They fight their own battle and end up surviving together in the woods. Building a shelter, catching fish, making fire ... So they really get together and make love. When Madeleine gets sick, Arnaud rescues her. They survive, literally and figuratively speaking.
Adele Haenel is an interesting actress. She gets on well with the role as the headstrong, naive young woman Madeleine. Kevin Azais plays also fine as masculine, loyal Arnaud. A coming-of-age film threatens to get bogged down quickly in clichés. Director Thomas Cailley proves in his feature debut, that you can do well on themes that are not original.