Take a trip back to the early days of WWI, but this time you are in France where a French Army is in the midst of holding off a German invasion. But, not like many war stories, The Guardians is about love, the love of family, the strength of the town’s people, and most of all the will to press on no matter what the loss or misunderstanding. The film is now available on Amazon Prime.
Things have been hectic on the farm where we find Hortense Sandrail (Nathalie Baye) keeping up the crops and garden with her husband Henri (Gilbert Bonneau) along with her two daughters Marguerite (Mathilde Viseux) and Solange (Laura Smet). Her two sons Georges (Cyril Descours) and Constant (Nicolas Giraud), the younger of the two, are fighting in the war. Her daughter Solange has had to carry most of the load and with her husband Clovis (Oliver Rabourdin) at the war front, has been doing double duty on her home and the farm. The Sandrails make most of their livelihood from the wheat that they have to grow and harvest, so that along with the milk they sell provides the income to keep going.
With the need for help, Hortense hires Francine (Iris Bry), an orphan that’s now in her twenties, to help with the everyday chores and work in the fields during harvest time. She’s a hard worker, easily likable and honest so she fits right in with the family and field workers. She has not met Constant and Georges in person, but has been allowed to be privy of their letters from the battlefield. Constant comes home on leave after two years at war and meets Francine and approves of her, even letting his mother know she has made a wise choice for the housemaid and farm worker.
After his short time there Constant leaves the homestead, but not before showing his guarded affection for Francine. With her life pretty well in order, Hortense even adds that she would like Francine to stay on for as long as she wishes. When Georges comes home months later for his leave, Francine finds that his welcome to her means a bit more to him than just friendship. Director Xavier Beauvois, who also co-wrote the screenplay does a terrific job of setting up the romance and the hard life of farmers in the South of France. He introduces each of the family characters early on, but they have very little meaning until they start to react to Francine’s growing relationship with their mother Hortense.
Taking his audience back to the early 1900’s France with sweeping vistas of the farm land, cottages, houses and barn yards. He dresses the people in costumes of the era, plants the fields of wheat for the workers and shows the quaint interiors of the buildings to add the visual sets that the film uses to play out the story. The cinematography both exterior and interior works closely with the storyline of how hard life has become with the male population fighting against the Germans and only the old men working alongside the women to keep life going until the war ends. As a note, there are war scenes, but they are very few as Beauvois’s tale is more about those left behind that makes this movie work.
The actors make their roles believable, some charming, others intrusive, and a few dealing with their jealous nature. Everything revolves around two main characters, Francine played by Iris Bry and Hortense in a great performance by Nathalie Baye. The two are in the middle of all the interactions of the other characters and make the film work. Baye has to make her character a strong woman and shows her plowing the field using oxen, working alongside her hired helpers during the harvest, heading up the daily household routines and feeling the hurt of a mother worried about her only sons fighting the war.
As the center of the romance, the chores in the barnyard, fields and most everything Hortense gets involved with, Bry gives an amazing performance. Dealing with every request of Hortense, providing a shoulder for her when she’s low and doing work way beyond what is requested of her, she becomes part of the family. She’s even more of a daughter than her employer’s kin and when it comes to dealing with deeper problems, it’s her character that keeps it all together. It’s her first role for the big screen, but you wouldn’t have guessed it.
The Guardians has been rated R by the MPAA for some violence and sexuality. The violence is a very realistic war scene. So be cautious when tuning in to Amazon Prime to watch the film at home where there may be immature youngsters. The film plays out in the French language with English subtitles that are very easy to read. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the production and I hope you will too.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you are a drama fan and like period pieces that are compelling and intriguing, then this is your croissant. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Nathalie Baye (Hortense Sandrail), Laura Smet (Solange), Iris Bry (Francine Riant), Cyril Descours (Georges Sandrail), Gilbert Bonneau (Henri Sandrail), Oliver Rabourdin (Clovis), Nicolas Giraud (Constant Sandrail), Mathilde Viseux (Marguerite Sandrail)
Directed and co-written by: Xavier Beauvois
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R for some violence and sexuality
Running Time: 2 hrs. 18 min.
Opening Date: December 26, 2018
Distributed by: Music Box Films
Released on: Amazon Prime
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
