Transposing a TV series to and/or for the big screen is not unlike expanding a short story into a novel i.e. why bother; the obvious answer in the case of the former is money; couch potatoes who enjoyed the series may venture to the local Multiplex and the strictly cinema audience probably missed the TV series. What we have here is slick entertainment set in that long Edwardian summer that culminated in the First World War and the Russian Revolution, both of which are offscreen characters here. The period doesn't figure that often in mega-buck movies although the last Arsene Lupin movie and A Very Long Engagement infringed upon it. As entertainment it hits all its targets and non-French audiences are unlikely to be distracted by familiar names - Deneuve, Depardieu, Binoche, Huppert etc - though the French film buff will be reassured by the presence of the reliable Jacques Gamblin, Gerard Jugnot and somewhat more erratic Clovis Cornillac. Guillaume Canet's ex-wife Diane Kruger has a central role but luckily she's not prevailed upon to act anything more demanding than gorgeous and/or sympathetic which she does as well as any equally gorgeous non-actress (she does it again in her latest, Pour Elle, in the salles now and it's all pretty harmless. If you like to be entertained and think you're learning a little about social history at the same time this is probably for you.
Review of The Tiger Brigades
