This film really looks stunning. In terms of art direction and realism, French films are superior to the plastic junk from Hollywood. However, if Vaincre ou Mourir had listened to one well-known American maxim: 'Show, don't tell', the film would have succeeded. Unfortunately, viewers are not allowed to experience history, we must listen to it and understand it.
The fact that at the beginning of the film a number of specialists start to indicate what is yet to come, does not bode well. We are then presented with a number of colorful characters. Unfortunately we are not allowed to get to know them, but they are explained and that is a killer for any drama.
Many films that tell an unexposed part of history have an enormous need for framing and interpretation. The result is a story that limps on two legs, in which facts are more important than drama. And let it be precisely drama that ensures that facts stick. There were probably too many correct or educational captains on the ship of this production. A good screenplay and a good director would have sufficed.
The fact that at the beginning of the film a number of specialists start to indicate what is yet to come, does not bode well. We are then presented with a number of colorful characters. Unfortunately we are not allowed to get to know them, but they are explained and that is a killer for any drama.
Many films that tell an unexposed part of history have an enormous need for framing and interpretation. The result is a story that limps on two legs, in which facts are more important than drama. And let it be precisely drama that ensures that facts stick. There were probably too many correct or educational captains on the ship of this production. A good screenplay and a good director would have sufficed.