Die Wächterinnen

A war film about the women left behind to struggle to work the land, with a classic tale of class, love and rejection, and final survival.

The film follows the rhythms of the farming year with the most gorgeous photography, lingering on details, faces, animals. I usually like films to have pace, but this one is most rewarding without that, and has strong emotional heft. The passion for the land runs deep both in rural areas, and French literature, and finds its cinematic expression here, notably at the end. The grief and anguish as telegrams come of death and capture Is finely portrayed.

Francine, the hard working orphan , well played, attracts our sympathy and support . If Hortense, the widowed farm owner, is a strong character, Francine is even more so, a survivor.