In 1954 Vietnam, at the time of Diên Biên Phu, a French unit on patrol under the command of an inexperienced lieutenant is gradually depleted by Vietminh until only an ex-Wehrmacht Alsatian adjutant remains. He is to die, a title informs us, in Algeria in 1960.
Semi-documentary in style, this is an effectively low-key appraisal of the difficult choices with which war confronts its soldiers. As so often in Vietnam films the enemy is only glimpsed from a distance, the camera remaining a disembodied observer among the group. Bertrand Tavernier acted as co-writer on the film.
The film tells the story of young Sara who, after the sudden death of her father, gives up her future as a jazz pianist in New York to face her family's past as an organic livestock farmer in the Pyrenees. An exotic mix of music, rural surroundings and family ties that create a story about the strength of going back to your roots.
After a child of divorce is sent to a private Catholic school by his devout mother, his faith and morality are tested when he falls in love with a girl who requires him to commit sacrilegious acts to further their relationship.
An unflinching portrait of Dean Potter, the influential and controversial climber, base jumper and highline walker, who achieves jaw-dropping feats while battling his inner demons.