This movie belongs to the batch of the few films talking about the Nazi invasion of France, back in 1940. The other one which I remind the most if Pierre Granier Deferre's LE TRAIN, back in 1973. Here, the story is quite different, but so moving too, even not so dark, desperate, although. It takes place in the north of France and tells the story of a large group of people who run away from their village houses and belongings, in order to escape from the German army forward march. Among those people, there is a little boy, the son of a German- but no Nazi - guy who escaped from his country several years earlier.
You have here a poignant tale, gripping story and unfortunately sometimes cheesy too. But certainly interesting and so realistic, bringing a point of view about things really happened in those harsh times. I particularly appreciated the two German soldiers who were so frightened to fight and who finally died. And also the scene of the German propaganda crew setting up everything to screw the cinema audiences in Germany. These sequences are exquisite. That's the way those events happened, and so rarely shown. And I will finish by speaking of the great Ennio Morricone score. And also don't miss the ending credits showing old black and white pictures of those refugees, authentic anonymous people, for whom this film is a homage.
You have here a poignant tale, gripping story and unfortunately sometimes cheesy too. But certainly interesting and so realistic, bringing a point of view about things really happened in those harsh times. I particularly appreciated the two German soldiers who were so frightened to fight and who finally died. And also the scene of the German propaganda crew setting up everything to screw the cinema audiences in Germany. These sequences are exquisite. That's the way those events happened, and so rarely shown. And I will finish by speaking of the great Ennio Morricone score. And also don't miss the ending credits showing old black and white pictures of those refugees, authentic anonymous people, for whom this film is a homage.