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Fantastic!

As Good As It Gets

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Director Bertrand Tavernier dares to show the true futility of warfare and the hypocrisy behind every call to arms by revealing how the so-called Great War (like every other war before or since) didn't end with an armistice, except of course for the dead. Phillipe Noiret stars as a military statistician assigned to account for the missing and identify the deceased; his expertise is sought by two women, strangers to each other but linked by a terrible secret.Noiret's character is that rarest of silver screen creatures, a middle-aged hero, and of truly heroic (but no less lifelike) proportions: competent and compassionate while at the same time flawed and uncertain. Over the course of his investigation he discovers firsthand the legacy of state-approved wholesale slaughter, and learns that after four years of bloody trench warfare some graves are best left unturned. With delicate insight and strong but subtle irony the film succeeds in putting a human face on the true victims of any war: not just the dead and disabled, but the civilians caught in the crossfire.

It is the end of the first World War, in France. Major Delaplane (Noiret) is ferociously determined to insure no dead soldier remains anonymous, despite the pressure from military and political authorities to keep them buried as a "lot".He keeps scrupulous count of each and every "casualty" he finds, treating each dead man with the absolute and final equality attained in death: he refuses to put any extra effort in tracing a rich one faster than a poor one.When he meets a grieved, upper-class widow looking for her dead husband, this man and this woman's worlds are shaken. From their distant positions, they start a slow and respectful journey towards each other, and the power of life over destruction will prevail.As always with Bertrand Tavernier, the personal story of the characters is tightly woven into the political issues of the times, as it is for all of us, whether we realize and like it or not.This is a film that celebrates the power of the individual within society, not outside of it. It is good for the soul in these times of fatalism, cynicism and loss of hope in man's good will.If you like this film, do not miss Tavernier's other films, they are all excellent.

A wonderfully acted and well written drama set in France in the aftermath of World War One. It's a romance about the importance of memory in morality and love and coming to terms with loss on an individual and national scale.

This is a powerful film with a genuinely epic feel. The backdrop of a post-war battle field is movingly sombre, with sets scattered with the last remains of soldiers, some hastily dug graves, and hoards of women mourning the loss of husbands and sons. There is no sense of victory or joy after the war, and its central character, Delaplane - brilliantly played by Philippe Noiret - portrays the mood of grim realism of what the war has done to his country and to his life. Unfortunately, the film is let down by a somewhat feeble love story involving Delaplane which has an unsatisfactory and unconvincing resolution. At way over two hours in length, the lack of a substantial central plot is more than noticeable. Towards the end, the film becomes slow and almost boring, despite some impressive visual images. It is almost as if the grimness of the subject matter has completely overwhelmed the film. However, considering how grim the subject matter is, that is hardly surprising.