The premise of the film has all the potential to be nothing more than a French version of "Private Benjamin" or "GI Jane" (young woman in search of her destiny finds it in the armed forces), but it is better than that. In the Hollywood style film the woman would be some maladjusted schnook who would, in the course of the film, acquire maturity and guts and, in a ringing tribute to feminism, emerge at the end as a valiant heroine who saves the day and outdoes the men who have been harassing her throughout the film.
But thankfully, it isn't -- this is a much subtler film. The woman, while seeking her way, is far from a schnook, even at the outset (she is university-trained and has masters' degrees in two foreign languages) and when we first meet her she is not a raw recruit undergoing basic training but is already a lieutenant, albeit one chained to a desk jockey position freshly designated as an assistant to the head of the training academy. But although she has poise and bearing, she is looking for more than that -- she wants to apply for commando training, something her boss will not let her do, and not only for professional reasons (it's not much of a spoiler to say that it becomes clear pretty quickly that both he and she are struggling with nascent romantic feelings for each other).
How this all develops is the subject of the film. It is all done with sophisticated understatement and never descends into Hollywood-type bathos. The training scenes are realistic, the love scenes (especially one at the beginning of the film) are erotic but never pornographic and the film charts the progress of the heroine, both emotionally and militarily, naturally and without the over dramatization or the caricature you might have feared.
I saw the film in France and I hope that it makes it to the English-speaking world.
But thankfully, it isn't -- this is a much subtler film. The woman, while seeking her way, is far from a schnook, even at the outset (she is university-trained and has masters' degrees in two foreign languages) and when we first meet her she is not a raw recruit undergoing basic training but is already a lieutenant, albeit one chained to a desk jockey position freshly designated as an assistant to the head of the training academy. But although she has poise and bearing, she is looking for more than that -- she wants to apply for commando training, something her boss will not let her do, and not only for professional reasons (it's not much of a spoiler to say that it becomes clear pretty quickly that both he and she are struggling with nascent romantic feelings for each other).
How this all develops is the subject of the film. It is all done with sophisticated understatement and never descends into Hollywood-type bathos. The training scenes are realistic, the love scenes (especially one at the beginning of the film) are erotic but never pornographic and the film charts the progress of the heroine, both emotionally and militarily, naturally and without the over dramatization or the caricature you might have feared.
I saw the film in France and I hope that it makes it to the English-speaking world.