Late 1917, World War I is raging and young Camille (Sylvie Testud) receives a letter from her husband at the front (Guillaume Depardieu) ending their relationship. Disguising herself as a man, she sets off to find him. Falling in with a company of soldiers under the command of a gruff lieutenant (Pascal Greggory), she follows them, embarking on a new life. These surprisingly sensitive men exchange poetry and prose, swapping their rifles for an assortment of homemade instruments to perform original songs . . .

The striking cinematography of Céline Bozon (Serge’s sister) is richly coloured, giving La France an atmospheric and vivid look. Far from a traditional war film, this highly original work is unlike anything you’ve seen before, a film ‘where Bresson meets the Beatles’ (Variety).

(Prix Jean Vigo 2007)