Le combattenti

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.

This French miniseries brings us back in the beginning of the First World War between Germany and France. Many stories are packed here and lot of dramatic turns are shown.

The locations in the French Vosges of Alsace are beautiful. The costumes and sceneries were wonderfully created so that everything came very authentic here. The main actress and actors delivered an outstanding performance and should earn high respect inclusive the director.

The last two or three episodes were the best in my opinion when scene by scene was full of surprises and emotions. This war showed again how useless it is and how cruel it was during these war times. God bless all innocent soldiers who died for their country. 7/10.

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!

I want to focus on the fact that this serie really catches the horrible moments of war in such a way I think noone can go away untouched. The screams are just horrific, If I didn't know it was on TV I could swear it was real.

I have to say it's really well made, great acting from everyone. And the fact I finished this before even thinking of looking at the last of us says it all.

This isn't an American production where everyone is cool and wounds are no match.

France has done it, it's horrific and tense, but you just need to watch to the end. Not sure you feel any better, but you definitely feel something.

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.