The Frozen Front

Hi all

I have seen many comments criticizing the English dubbing but having seen the film in French VO I will not allow myself to judge as rajotd.

This film is a loyal historical testimony concerning the brave soldiers (american and french) who fought in the pocket of Colmar and the links between them.

Very well shot and with complete historical realism we note however the small budget allocated to the effects, more real than special ;-)

However, where the film draws all its excellence, it is in the singular story that it tells and in the links between close characters that it brilliantly highlights.

Throughout each scene, the director's passion is felt and during the course of the film we understand how the script has been worked to achieve this result.

Therefore it is a touching, realistic and ultimately both simple and complex film for the story it tells!

Poorly acting bad dialogue incredibly bad battle scenes simply an abysmal movie

Seven months after D-Day, French and American soldiers team-up in the woods outside Jebsheim to liberate northeast France from the German invasion (Jebsheim is located 5-6 miles west of the German border).

"The Frozen Front" (2017), originally titled "Winter War," is a French Indie that pays tribute to the Franco-American allies who secured the forests bordering Jebsheim in preparation for The Battle of Jebsheim that was fought from January 24 to February 2, 1945. The low-budget filmmaking is akin to "Straight into Darkness" (2004), but more straightforward and less surrealistic, although this one isn't as good. It's akin to a more dramatic "When Trumpets Fade" (1998) dubbed in English (from the original French), but made on a much lower budget and less compelling story-wise.

Armchair critics lambaste the movie mainly because of the English dubbing that doesn't match the lips with some lines not dubbed at all wherein you'll see lips move, but no sound. If you can ignore this issue, "The Frozen Front" is effective in showing what it was like for the tough soldiers who took the forests outside the village in January, 1945. The acting is surprisingly convincing despite what critics claim and the English speaking fits the characters despite the dubbing not matching the lips.

The challenges and horrors of war in a winter wilderness setting are chronicled: The cold, the sparse sustenance, living in foxholes, sudden violence, horrific wounds, buddies dying, ramshackle medical care, despair, perseverance, chaplains, brother vs. brother and hope for victory.

The writer/director confidently takes his time in telling his commemorative tale, which I can't help respect. This is a movie solely about men fighting in the wintery woods during WW2, which might be too one-dimensional for many viewers, not to mention overlong by about an hour. Then there's the problematic dubbing.

The film runs 2 hours, 22 minutes, and was presumably shot in France (it was definitely shot in mainland Europe, but I can't find specific data).

GRADE: C

The dubbed-in English dialogue is so cliche-ridden, it's hard to believe that it was an accurate translation from the French. Can a screenwriter really be that bad in two different languages? Plus, the voiceover actors are so bad, it just calls further attention to the awful dialogue. On the plus side, the historically inaccurate large white parachute emblems on the front of many of the helmets--the ones that blared out to the Germans, "Shoot here! It's where my forehead is."--was a creative touch.

They say that war is hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Well, they got the boredom right. Also, it is hard to relate to the characters, who spend more time whining and bickering than fighting the Germans.