Five desperate French soldiers during The Battle of the Somme shoot themselves, either by accident or with purpose, in order to be invalidated back home. Having been "caught" a court-martial convenes and determines punishment to be banishment to No Man's Land with the objective of having the Germans finish them off. In the process of telling this tale each man's life is briefly explored along with their next of kin as Methilde, fiancée to one of the men, tries to determine the circumstances of her lover's death. This task is not made any easier for her due to a bout with polio as a child. Along the way she discovers the heights and depths of the human soul.
| Release Date: | Oct 2004 |
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| Genre: | Drama / Mystery / Romance / War |
| Awards: | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 21 nominations |
| Cast: | Audrey Tautou (Mathilde), Gaspard Ulliel (Manech), Dominique Pinon (Sylvain), Chantal Neuwirth (Bénédicte), André Dussollier (Pierre-Marie Rouvières), Ticky Holgado (Germain Pire), Marion Cotillard (Tina Lombardi), Dominique Bettenfeld (Ange Bassignano), Jodie Foster (Elodie Gordes), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Benjamin Gordes), Clovis Cornillac (Benoît Notre-Dame), Jean-Pierre Becker (Esperanza), Denis Lavant (Six-Soux), Jérôme Kircher (Bastoche), Albert Dupontel (Célestin Poux), Jean-Paul Rouve (Le facteur), Elina Löwensohn (La femme allemande), Julie Depardieu (Véronique Passavant), Michel Vuillermoz (P'tit Louis), Urbain Cancelier (Le curé), Maud Rayer (Madame Desrochelles), Michel Robin (Le vieil homme sur le champ de bataille), Tchéky Karyo (Capitaine Favourier), Jean-Claude Dreyfus (Commandant Lavrouye), Philippe Duquesne (Favart), Bouli Lanners (Chardolot), Stéphane Butet (Philippot), Christian Pereira (L'officier des archives), François Levantal (Thouvenel), Patrick Paroux (Le médecin militaire), Solène Le Pechon (Mathilde 10 ans), Virgil Leclaire (Manech 13 ans), Florence Thomassin (Narrator (voice)), Thierry Gibault (Lieutenant Estrangin), Myriam Roustan (La prostituée du café), Gilles Masson (L'officier assassiné), Sandrine Rigault (Mariette Notre-Dame (as Sandrine Rigaud)), Michel Chalmeau (Le curé de Milly), Marc Faure (Le directeur de la prison), Rodolphe Pauly (Jean Desrochelles), Xavier Maly (Le camarade de Chardolot), Till Bahlmann (Le prisonnier allemand), Tony Gaultier (Un fossoyeur), Louis-Marie Audubert (Un fossoyeur), Jean-Gilles Barbier (Le sergent), Marc Robert (Un poilu), Pierre Heitz (Un poilu), Philippe Maymat (Un poilu), Eric Debrosse (Un poilu), Michel Gondoin (Un poilu (as Mike Gondouin)), Pido (Le corse menaçant (as Eric...), Philippe Beautier (Le blagueur du train), Gérald Weingand (Un soldat floué), Luc Sonzogni (Un soldat floué), Xavier Berlioz (L'ordonnance), Frankie Pain (La maquerelle), Marcel Philippot (Le couple bourgeois), Pascale Lievyn (Le couple bourgeois), Jean-Claude Lecoq (Le mitrailleur allemand), Rufus (Un Breton), Esther Sironneau (L'infirmière), Stéphanie Gesnel (Une fille de joie), Frédérique Bel (Une fille de joie), Alexandre Caumartin (Un brancardier), Eric Defosse (Un brancardier), Gaspar Claus (L'Allemand transperçé), Jean-Philippe Bèche (Georges Cornu), Anaïs Durand (Hélène Pire), Rachel Berger (Petite prostitute (uncredited)), Morgan Berthon (Un soldat regardant Manech (uncredited)), Xavier Bonastre (Un bourgeois (1910) (uncredited)), Vincent Bowen ((uncredited)), Marie-Thé Colmagne (Une bourgeoise (1910) (uncredited)), Aleksandra Kacprzak (Passante sur la place de...), Arnaud Klein (Soldier (uncredited)), Julien Lecat (Un soldat (uncredited)), Arnaud Marciszewer (Baptistin 8 ans (uncredited)), Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus (Soldier Hooked in a Tree (uncredited)), Christophe Perie (Soldier (uncredited)), Aleksandrs Petukhovs (Soldier (uncredited)) |