john-3422

The only redeeming feature of this film for me was the scenery, as I am familiar with this area and have visited much of the coastline. I found the story itself rather slow and pointless. I haven't read the book but know others who have. Perhaps this is one of those books that doesn't transform well into film.

I thought the sound and diction were very poor, and couldn't make out around 25% of Jason Isaacs's mumbled speech. It should be possible for experienced actors to speak with a regional accent (in this case Staffordshire) without mumbling.

Both my wife (who has read the book) and I left the cinema feeling quite underwhelmed.

I actually quite enjoyed the story behind this film. However, the inaccurate depiction of use of the Lewis Gun totally spoiled it for me, and I got increasingly frustrated towards the end of the film, as Milhais continued to fire Lewis guns for long periods without ever reloading.

The Lewis was a light machine gun, intended to be fired in bursts. It fires at a rate of 500 rounds per minute. The pan magazines hold 47 or 97 rounds, so even using the larger magazine, firing the gun constantly empties the magazine in just over 10 seconds. In normal use, Lewis gunners were accompanied by a loader, who changed the magazines, and several others who carried the large number of magazines necessary to keep up a high rate of fire. However Milhais is shown firing the Lewis as if it were a belt-fed machine gun, without it ever being reloaded, and with no spare magazines in sight. This lack of authenticity completely ruined the film for me.

It was obvious from the beginning of the first episode that a great deal of time and expense must have been put into this series. The locations and costumes appear to be very accurate. French soldiers are shown wearing the red trousers (le pantalon rouge) introduced in 1829 and still in use at the outbreak of war in 1914. Since such pains appear to have been taken with the visual aspects, it is a pity that less attention has been paid to other historical details. However, in spite of this, I found the stories of the four women quite engaging, although admittedly somewhat schmaltzy and melodromatic.

The most glaring example of a historical inaccuracy is the depiction of the use of poisonous chlorine gas by the Germans in Episode 6. This episode is set in late September 1914, but poison gas was only used for the first time, by the Germans at Ypres, in April 1915!

The distinction between social classes, and between officers and other ranks at that time was quite marked, but is not reflected in this series, and it is often difficult to tell who is an officer. French officers still went into action in 1914 with swords and revolvers, but 'Colin', a lieutenant, is frequently seen carrying and firing a rilfe. Furthermore, men at that time were generally addressed by their surnames and rarely by their first names, so 'Colin' would have been referred to as 'Lieutenant de Renier' both by his brother officers and the men under his command.

I watched this film in the original French with English subtitles. Although this requires more effort, it provides a more immersive experience.