DE GAULLE
***
Director: Gabriel Le Bomin
Screenplay: Gabriel Le Bomin and Valérie Ranson-Enguiale.
Principal cast:
Lambert Wilson
Isabelle Carré
Olivier Gourmet
Tim Hudson
Philippe Laudenbach
Clémence Hittin
Country: France
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 6 May 2021.
Gabriel Le Bomin has taken an interesting approach to his subject in De Gaulle. His look at the life of one of the 20th century’s most important leaders, French President Charles de Gaulle, covers only the briefest of periods, albeit an important one, namely from April to June 1940. This was the time when the French government was considering negotiating an armistice with Nazi Germany but General (as his rank was then) de Gaulle refused to capitulate and sought the help of England to come to his country’s aid. More than that, however, the film examines de Gaulle’s loving relationship with his wife Yvonne, who was his greatest supporter.
Beginning in April, De Gaulle reveals the happy home life of the general (Lambert Wilson, in excellent form; he was last seen here in 2020’s The Translators), his wife (Isabelle Carré) and their young children, Philippe (Félix Back), Élisabeth (Lucie Rouxel) and Anne (Clémence Hittin), who had Down’s syndrome. De Gaulle is already an influential figure in strategising the war but in disagreement with Marshall Pétain (Philippe Laudenbach) and others about how to handle Hitler after the virtual collapse of the French army. The new prime minister Paul Reynaud (Olivier Gourmet) secretly grants the general permission to fly to England to try to convince Winston Churchill (Tim Hudson) to come to France’s aid but the Englishman turns him down. As negotiation continue in Paris and London, de Gaulle’s family are on the move as the danger increases on the continent but, when they flee to a port to try to get passage out of the country, he loses all contact with them.
Despite the dramatic events on view in De Gaulle, the film is, at times, strangely flat - perhaps because the twin stories, the personal and the historic, never really seem to gel. Lambert is very good as the general, helped by great work from the hair and make-up department, and the scenes set in France have fantastic production values, especially in the toing-and-froing between the politicians and army chiefs as they discuss whether to give in to Germany or not. Across the Channel, however, the wheeling and dealing between Churchill and de Gaulle is decidedly less authentic. There are few passages showing the human cost of the war and, when they are seen, they usually surround Yvonne and the family as they travel in search of safety. As for the men, their battles are mainly held in the cloistered rooms of the seats of power and they’re verbal rather than physical.
Le Bomin and Ranson-Enguiale’s screenplay relies on a bit of license and anyone studying this period of World War II should be wary of treating their script as gospel. That aside, De Gaulle is worth the price of admission for its insight into the personal life of the man beneath the famous kepi cap.
Screenplay: Gabriel Le Bomin and Valérie Ranson-Enguiale.
Principal cast:
Lambert Wilson
Isabelle Carré
Olivier Gourmet
Tim Hudson
Philippe Laudenbach
Clémence Hittin
Country: France
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 6 May 2021.
Gabriel Le Bomin has taken an interesting approach to his subject in De Gaulle. His look at the life of one of the 20th century’s most important leaders, French President Charles de Gaulle, covers only the briefest of periods, albeit an important one, namely from April to June 1940. This was the time when the French government was considering negotiating an armistice with Nazi Germany but General (as his rank was then) de Gaulle refused to capitulate and sought the help of England to come to his country’s aid. More than that, however, the film examines de Gaulle’s loving relationship with his wife Yvonne, who was his greatest supporter.
Beginning in April, De Gaulle reveals the happy home life of the general (Lambert Wilson, in excellent form; he was last seen here in 2020’s The Translators), his wife (Isabelle Carré) and their young children, Philippe (Félix Back), Élisabeth (Lucie Rouxel) and Anne (Clémence Hittin), who had Down’s syndrome. De Gaulle is already an influential figure in strategising the war but in disagreement with Marshall Pétain (Philippe Laudenbach) and others about how to handle Hitler after the virtual collapse of the French army. The new prime minister Paul Reynaud (Olivier Gourmet) secretly grants the general permission to fly to England to try to convince Winston Churchill (Tim Hudson) to come to France’s aid but the Englishman turns him down. As negotiation continue in Paris and London, de Gaulle’s family are on the move as the danger increases on the continent but, when they flee to a port to try to get passage out of the country, he loses all contact with them.
Despite the dramatic events on view in De Gaulle, the film is, at times, strangely flat - perhaps because the twin stories, the personal and the historic, never really seem to gel. Lambert is very good as the general, helped by great work from the hair and make-up department, and the scenes set in France have fantastic production values, especially in the toing-and-froing between the politicians and army chiefs as they discuss whether to give in to Germany or not. Across the Channel, however, the wheeling and dealing between Churchill and de Gaulle is decidedly less authentic. There are few passages showing the human cost of the war and, when they are seen, they usually surround Yvonne and the family as they travel in search of safety. As for the men, their battles are mainly held in the cloistered rooms of the seats of power and they’re verbal rather than physical.
Le Bomin and Ranson-Enguiale’s screenplay relies on a bit of license and anyone studying this period of World War II should be wary of treating their script as gospel. That aside, De Gaulle is worth the price of admission for its insight into the personal life of the man beneath the famous kepi cap.