Fragments of Antonin

Of course I thought of JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN. Who would not? I have never seen anything more disturbing about WW1. Never, except the Dalton Trumbo's movie, of course. Gregory Dérangère is outstanding in this film, and whatever he will make later, that would remain his best performance ever. Be sure of it. Not for all audiences. Some may prefer LA CHAMBRE DES OFFICIERS, yes it's a bit softer. But, believe me, this one must be seen at all costs. And one more thing, Jacques Rouffio's first film, back in 1967, and called HORIZONS also spoke of WW1 and a soldier who wanted to desert, a sort of French PATHS OF GLORY, at least closer to the Stan Kubrick's masterpiece than to this one. But the main character of HORIZON was also called Antonin...

Strange, isn'it?

There were plenty of movies about WW1 in France .It really began with Gance's first version of "J'accuse" (1917-1918).The thirties movies were harsh depictions (" Les Croix de Bois") and it took Stanley Kubrik to show the horrors of the French army killing their own men as a deterrent for others ("Antonin" features such a scene).The "after the war" subject really began with Tavernier's remarkable "La Vie Et Rien d'Autre" and continued with such works as "La Chambre des Officiers".

"Les Fragments D'Antonin " tackled a subject which almost remained absent to this day.It is,in a certain way,some kind of sequel to "La Chambre Des Officiers" or 'Johnny Got His Gun" ; it tells the story of a soldier whose psyche was shot after all he had been through:Gregori Dérangère gives a stunning performance and the movie owes a lot to him,because the editing is not always convincing and sometimes fails to build a dramatic progression.The last picture is marvelous and the smile upon his face is a hope for the future ,maybe the promise that the black birds in his sky will be replaced by pigeons ...or doves.

I saw this last night at the EuroCine 27 event; 27 movies from each European countries shown the same day in several European cities. I never heard of Le Bomin and barely heard of Derangère ("La Chambre des Officiers") and was fortunately surprised to discover these two great talents yet unknown from the large audience ! Derangère is absolutely astonishing playing the character Antonin Verset which is victim of post-WWI trauma, always living the same troubling scenes he endured the last six months of the War.

All cast is excellent and also a great work on cinematography offers some really nice shots, great landscapes and stunning faces. The editing is really well done with subtile bits of memories here and there that make sense more and more in the story. Also, the first minutes of the movie are showing real chilling WW-I archives.

This is not another action-flick; if you like sensitive and more psychologic movies that will really give you something to think about, then I absolutely recommend "Les Fragments d'Antonin" !

Let's see what Le Bomin will do next...