Reviews

This is a film about the human cost of war. It opens with a beautifully crafted scene: a shot of soldiers standing in rank and file on parade dissolves to rows of crosses in a military cemetery in identical alignment. After a close-up of a marble cross engraved "In Memoriam" there is a dissolve to rows of fresh grave mounds, each headed by a rough wooden cross. There follows a scene of crowds of walking men and crowds of marching soldiers who have responded to notices of general conscription. We have been taken back in time.

From this point, the film follows the experiences of a particular squad in the French army during World War I, as a young law student joins their ranks. This is a familiar way to depict war. We know we will get to know this small group of soldiers. We expect some will die, because that is what happens in war. We also might expect to see their efforts and sacrifice in some kind of context.

What is striking about this film is its especially narrow focus. We might expect that, since it is so easy to do in film, our perspective would widen at some points to show us "the bigger picture." This film never does. There are no wide sweeping shots of a battlefield. As it would be for the ordinary soldier, our view is low and limited. In the most open field in broad daylight we never see more than a few dozen men. Many scenes occur at night. (The effect of light from falling flares is very effectively captured in the photography.) Artillery shells come unexpectedly, seemingly at random, from nowhere. Orders arrive, and, like the soldiers, we do not know what led to them being given or what larger purpose the action will serve. At one point the soldiers shout "We saved the town!" But we have no idea what town it is— only that they are referring to a complete ruin.

What we do see are the occasional breaks from the stress of the battlefield. Even those are filled with uncomprehended occurrences: distribution of new helmets and knives, calls to parade when what is needed is rest, expected leave suddenly cancelled.

We are aware individual deaths. They die beside their comrades. They fail to return. Two men realize they can use their dead comrade as a parapet. One effective scene has a soldier go outside the bunker as lookout. A nearby shell explodes, and the soldiers call their comrade's name. A soldier goes out to look, returns. "Well?" "We need another lookout." The soldier who goes out takes his post next to the dead comrade. He listens for a moment to the groans and appeals of the wounded on the other side of the parapet, and has to cover his ears.

We are reminded of the dead in an effective shot used twice in a scene of the soldiers marching on parade during one of their breaks. In the background is a church. Superimposed in the sky above is the silhouette of a similar line of soldiers climbing uphill, as if to heaven.

The film ends with the death of the young law student. Wounded during the day, he must keep awake until dark, when medics might be able to reach him. As he becomes delirious, we again see soldiers climbing uphill in the sky. This time, they are all carrying wooden crosses, and this time, there is more than one file. Some of those passing close to us are German soldiers.

So, in a sense, this film does include a wider perspective. It just isn't the wider view we are used to seeing in films about war.

Nicolas's father is overprotective beyond reason. He asks his son's teacher what guarantee she can give that the children will be safe on the planned trip to an outdoor education centre. Miss Grimm responds matter-of-factly that there is "nothing," and the father announces that he will drive Nicolas himself. This father also allows his sons to watch a news item about a horrible bus accident. He tells Nicolas a gruesome story about organ traffickers to explain why he will not leave the little brother in the care of a stranger. He has recently attempted suicide by slitting his wrists, and burdens Nicolas with the torments of his mental imbalance.

Nicolas is a nervous wreck as a result. He is anxious, has nightmares, and wets the bed. Patrick, the instructor at the outdoor ed. centre, recognizes him as a worrier, but also "a dreamer." Nicolas also has a skewed attitude to his own body. He should be fascinated by the impending changes of puberty, but he does not understand a classmate's ribald riddle, and he thinks he's done something "very bad" when he has a "wet dream." During a relaxation exercise, "getting to know his body" brings a series of nightmarish thoughts. His interest in the anatomy booklet he gets with gas station coupons is part of what seems to be a morbid obsession. His wondering why his father doesn't return with his forgotten bag leads to visions of a gruesome accident. Nicolas spends so much time worrying about what terrible things could occur that he has begun to wonder if his "thinking hard" about them can cause them to actually happen.

At the outdoor ed. centre Nicolas has something of a breakthrough. The need to borrow pyjamas leads to overtures of friendship from Hodkann, the class tearaway. His nightmare of organ traffickers shooting all the students turns into a dream of rescuing and protecting Hodkann. The nightmare of seeing his little brother kidnapped by organ traffickers turns into a dream of sharing with Hodkann the thrill of the roller coaster. Nicolas also gets to spend some time with Patrick, a teacher who is easygoing and fun. Their shopping trip to buy clothes for Nicolas is the first time he smiles.

Hodkann is fascinated by the idea that Nicolas is a sleepwalker. Nicolas satisfies that curiosity by spinning a tale of seeing organ traffickers outside, and embellishes it with the claim that his father is tailing them, waiting for an opportunity to "settle the score" of the theft of the little brother's kidney. But Hodkann, totally believing, connects this with the disappearance and murder of a local boy. He reports the story to the police, thinking that he is ensuring the protection of Nicolas's father.

When he hears this, Nicolas faints, thinking he is going to be in deep trouble for misleading the police during a murder inquiry. Then he is told there is "a problem at home," and that he is to be driven back by Patrick. On the way, he sees a television report of his father's arrest, and he realizes that it is his father who is in deep trouble.

In the middle of all this, he sees a beautiful young mother cooing to her baby on a change table. His face takes on a tranquil look, and he exchanges a tender smile with the mother.

At this point his string bracelet falls away, which the teachers had told him would be when his wish would be granted. The "Agnus Dei" from Rossini's Petite Messe Solonelle, which has been used repeatedly during the film, plays to the end, repeating at last the "Dona nobis pacem," or "Grant us your peace." Nicolas's wish may have been to be rid of his father— a wish Miss Grimm actually suggests, as a joke. Perhaps his wish was simply to be at peace— free of anxiety and nightmarish thoughts— and he now feels able to cope with his worries and can return home and ring his doorbell and face whatever awaits there.

The film ends, though, with Hodkann. Whenever he has made a friendly gesture towards Nicolas, the teachers have suspected he was setting up a prank. At the end, he is summoned to the teachers' office, and shown the news item of Nicolas's father in police custody. They expect him to be sobered by the serious consequences of what they assume is a lie he has told. But he has been misunderstood again. He stares at the television, confused, dismayed, in shock. The "Agnus Dei" plays during the credits over an aerial shot of a desolate winter forest, perhaps suggesting the ultimately isolated state of a person's inner life.