Las combatientes

I didn't have high hopes for this show when it popped up on my screen, but it turns out it's pretty addictive. Tells the tale of four women in various stations in life interacting and intersecting each other's lives in the early days of World War One in France.

This is a very well made series, good acting, writing, great costumes and sets. The show has a melodramatic, slightly unreal aspect to it, making for a dreamy high end soap opera feel. That's not a bad thing, it was low key mesmerizing at times.

I wish there were more miniseries of this caliber available on streaming services instead of the usual garbage shows.

I watched this in French w/ English subtitles, to best hear the actor's cadences for their role. From the beginning we had acting of the highest order, with (once again) Audrey Fleurot giving a standout performance, as she did in "The French Village". In fact all the acting was good to excellent. This leaves one with the impression that talent and craft are at the highest level with French Thespians. The production values were OK, though the battlefield scenes seemed lacking. But weakest of all was the writing: It was predictable with an inclination towards the melodramatic, and in some cases extremely so. This was an excellent example of superb acting almost elevating the production from so/so to good. Almost, that is.

If you watched "Bonfire of Destiny" you'll be pleased to see the same three actresses ( plus a new one) and Director, at it again. This time it's 1914 and WW1 has started. A prostitute, a nun and a "criminal" abortionist are the main protagonists. And, yup the baddies are mostly men. But it's played out dead seriously which allows the plot weaknesses to be smoothed over.

Audrey Fleurot leads the way with her wonderful mane of red hair. And flaring nostrils! She's so good at playing strong characters who are always interesting even when flawed.

It's also one of the rare movies that show WW1 before it ground down to bunker warfare. It seems the French uniforms were "decorative" while the Germans, practical as usual, were colorless. Zut Alors!

It's a good French series about the involvement of women in WW1 on the French side, through the prism of four prototypal characters: a prostitute with a son in the army; a runaway competent nurse; an upper-class lady with a shady past; and a nun.

The story of the four characters intersect and find a common destiny in a French town near the front, confronted by the horrors of war.

Some of that conflict was well depicted, other elements, maybe not so much. Historical accuracy is not the main element here (e.g there were no gas attack until 1915, whereas all the action takes place at the beginning of the war in 1914).

The depiction of war wounds, the moral of troops, the insufficient equipment (no helmet) and the treatment of the wounded seemed pretty spot on though.

The action and acting is all good if a little over-dramatic and forced at times.

There will be no second season. This is a mini-series and this is all there is to it.

This show makes for compelling viewing thanks to extraordinary acting, beautiful scenery & sets with overall high production standards.

Even though the villains (most of the male characters) are often too evil to be real, the actors are so good at making us hate them that they somehow seemed quite believable though disgusting. The 4 female leads are very good-looking, appealing women caught up in such dire situations that it was easy to empathise with them, hoping one day they'd eventually find joy. Music soundtrack was good - always helping the story reach emotional highs. Compared to most of the tripe dished up as must-see-entertainment this one was GOLD!