198. Memoir Of War (Le douleur): movie review)

MEMOIR OF WAR (LE DOULEUR)
Cert 12A
126 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate injury detail, distressing scenes

War is an avalanche of human stories which need laborious digging to uncover.
Most movies tend to concentrate on those which unfold in front of the camera, be they tales of heroism or sadness.
Emmanuel Finkiel goes down a different but intriguing route by examining the effect of war on those who are left behind.
The excellent Mélanie Thierry plays French resistance member, Marguerite, whose husband Robert has been apprehended by the Nazis.
Initially, she throws herself in the direction of a French Nazi collaborator (Benoît Magimel), trying to ascertain if he is alive and, if so, where he is.
In a fractured world, basic slices of information are like gold but even when Marguerite does glean some relevant news it is of little help in alleviating the pain of her separation.

Finkiel's movie then moves to the final days and aftermath of war when the Germans are finally vanquished and reflects the hope and desperation of those whose loved ones have been captured.
Are they dead or alive is the most common question. But even if they have survived, will they be the same as before captivity?
These questions dominate every waking minute for Marguerite and Finkiel handles her storyline so deftly because his family lived through similar circumstances at the end of the war.
Stories of the disappearance of his grandparents and uncle and of the futile wait for their return were passed down to him.
He skilfully reflects the chaos, the irrationality of loved ones and how behaviour often seems out of body.
Some might say that his film is a tad slow but those who have endured war might argue that he is demonstrating how time seems to stand still.
Presumably, that is why Finkiel uses slow motion, be the news for Marguerite good or bad.
His movie is thoughtful and thought-provoking and he has mined a new seam of the bottomless pit of Second World War history.

Reasons to watch: A subtle but effective portrait of war
Reasons to avoid: Maybe a tad slow for some

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Although no precise estimates exist, the number of French soldiers captured during the Battle of France between May and June 1940 is generally recognised around 1.8 million, equivalent to around 10 per cent of the total adult male population of France at the time.

Final word. The starting point was my own history or that of my father whose parents and younger brother were arrested and deported in 1942, not to return. For many years, and to an irrational degree, we waited for them.

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