The Guardians
An affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds
against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm,
under the deft hand of Hortense, the family’s matriarch (Nathalie Baye,)
must grapple with the workload while the men, including two sons, are
off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, the
hard-scrabble teenage orphan, Francine (Iris Bry), to help her daughter
Solange (Laura Smet). New tools allow the women to triumph over the
land, newfound independence is acquired, yet emotions are stirred
especially when the men return from the front on short leaves. Acclaimed
filmmaker Xavier Beauvois (OF GODS AND MEN) revels in the mysteries and
beauties of the French countryside, here unravaged by war, with
painterly images bathed in natural light, yet keeps his focus on the
intricate drama that plays out against the upheaval of the Great War.
Director(s)
Xavier BeauvoisCast
Nathalie BayeIris Bry
Laura Smet
Critic’s Pick. "With narrative restraint and a lapidary visual style, Mr. Beauvois opens up this isolated world with stirring emotional force." A.O. SCOTT, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Stirring emotional force.” MANOHLA DARGIS, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“A serious-minded and...rather powerful portrait of women getting by in a world where all the men are either gone or gone mad.” JORDAN MINTZER, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
