Ling Zhu
I had just finished reading Vercors' novel when I heard about this film. I found Vercors' writing so perfect that I couldn't imagine any cinematic adaptation to be able to surpass it. But the film is such a wonderful surprise! It remains faithful to the novel where necessary and where it takes the liberty to change the story line, it does so with full justification and with a finesse that arguably exceeds that of Vercors' novel. Take for example the role of Bach's music. It plays only a subsidiary role in the novel, but in the film it has become the milestones in the development of the plot: Vercors has only briefly mentioned that the heroine plays the piano, whereas in the film, the first encounter between the hero and heroine takes place exactly when the heroine was playing Bach's Prelude No 1. Immediately this moment becomes emotionally charged. Also the novel only mentions in passing that the German officer on a certain morning begins to play the piano, whereas in the film, he does so on the Christmas' Eve, where he and the French girl for the first time have the chance to be alone with each other. The German officer's performance becomes thus a powerful declaration of love. Not to mention the strongest scene of the film: the moment the French girl plays Bach's Prelude No 2 in order to save the German officer's life. This scene is entirely the invention of the filmmaker!There are many more subtleties to be discovered in this film. The filmmaker has attended to the smallest detail, even the barely audible background conversations in the original German language. Everything carries a meaning and contributes to the dramatic tension in this film. It's particularly enjoyable to study the various forms and perspectives from which the filmmaker sets the figures on the scene: whether as a real person or as a mere shadow on the door or as a mirror-image...It's a great story rendered in great form. And this makes it not only an entertaining film, but a real work of art.
ExoticaCat
A heart-wrenching story like this always devastates me, it leaves me hanging with no sense of closure, and I need a closure in order to move on.This movie is exquisitely crafted, it's aesthetic idealism undertone saddens you with a sense of utterly helplessness at the end. The story is just so beautiful it's perfect, so perfect it's unreal and so unreal it's tragic...The danger of a movie being idealistic is that it often detaches itself from reality and falls into the trap of self-absorbed indulgence, not the case for this movie, we were constantly reminded the presence of war, the hostility towards the invaders, the suppressed angry, the secret resistance underway, the self-sacrifice of the people, and the ultimately, the life and death.On one side, we were presented with this German Caption Werner, he is almost perfect - he is noble, passionate, poetic, romantic, empathetic, compassionate, loyal and genuinely embraces French culture and literature; yet he is courageous and brave evidenced by the decoration of Iron Cross First and Second Class medals; oh, one more thing, did I mention that he is also strikingly handsome!! Any wonder a young maiden like Jeanne would fall for him? On the other side, his uniform alone is a constant reminder that he is a Nazi officer and he must have done more than just composing music to earn his Iron Cross. After the car bombing, he arrested the French Resistance couple leaving their son orphaned (pretty sure they will be executed later). Yes, it shows that he has different view of his position than his fellow officers, and he doesn't agree what German's plan for the French, but didn't he also say that he need to be loyal to his responsibilities and duties? His conscience torments him, he doesn't know what to do, but does he have a choice? I am glad that this movie does show us the darker side of him, and the awful things his duties requires him to do; without this, the whole story will be quite meaningless, just another painted over melodrama...I watched this movie entirely in French with no subtitles, my pathetic French only allows me comprehend a few lines of conversation. That doesn't matter, by now I've watched many times and understand the entire story. There isn't much of conversation anyways, after all, this is a movie about Silence.A movie like this has high demand for acting skills, and the two leads surely have delivered their finest performances, each fits his/her role perfectly with Thomas Jouannet as Capt. Werner Von Ebrennac and Julie Delarme as Jeanne Larosière.Julie Delarme has brilliantly portrayed Jeanne's transformation from a silent fighter to a woman slowly taken over by love struggling at the verge of total surrender. She is fragile yet strong, passionate yet rational, under her cold surface is a violent sea of emotion turbulence. Julie Delarme has mastered every little twists and turns of Jeanne's emotions: the resentment towards the enemy, the stubbornness of maintain her dignity and pride, the nervous glancing at him, the anxious waiting, the stir by his speeches, the longing for his presence, the yearning of his touch, the drowning in his eye, the intoxicating by his music, the wrestling between right and wrong, the anxiety of saving his life, the numbing pain of seeing him leave, the final burst in desperation to reach out to him, the emptiness of the void he left behind...Thomas Jouannet just as magnificently portrayed Werner as a musical composer turned Nazi officer who was torn in between his love to music, literature, the sea and Jeanne, and his obligation bond by his family tradition and his vow to serve his country. He has chosen an unique way to express himself not as a fearful conqueror but a warmhearted human being. It worked, with each heartfelt speech, he chisels away the ice in the air, warms up her heart and brings her closer. The gap can never be closed with the war and fate of the two countries lie between them, and with each of them stubbornly holds his/her last ground and dignity. It doomed from beginning.Both Thomas Jouannet and Julie Delarme have beautiful and expressive eyes, given the dialogue is limited, the unspoken, suppressed yet fiery passionate love are communicate through their eyes and gestures. No doubt they know each others love, the eyes betrayed each of them long before any words has spoken. I love the chemistry between the two, it's heart aching to see the tension of love so evident and restless and getting stronger and stronger ready to climax, yet there is nowhere to release and escape, like watching bubbles rising from the water but they can never reach the surface.It beautiful, quiet movie but delivers anti-war message louder than any battle fields guns. If Werner and Jeanne can't be together, you really should think seriously what is wrong with this world...
