VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

InspireGato Film Perfection

Manthast Absolutely amazing

miriamday-35605 Now I like a floral frock and a well-pressed Nazi uniform (on screen, you understand) as much as the next gal, but I do find the nostalgic framing of WWII in the movies a little troubling – and 'Suite Francaise' is no exception. The hand of the BBC is everywhere visible in the production, from the costumes to the doughty cast of characters who could have come straight from the set of 'Poldark' or 'Lark Rise to Candleford.Michelle Williams plays 'the beautiful Lucille' (as described by the BBC) and Matthius Schoenaerts gives Ralph Fiennes a run for his money as the brooding, handsome and 'refined' (BBC again) Nazi soldier, his refinement on show for all to see via his wistful tinkling on Michelle's, erm, piano.The two, entirely predictably, fancy the pants off each other (or should that be cami-knickers) and various complications ensue, what with him being a Nazi and everything. But the moral of the story is that lurv and that old-British-chestnut 'common decency' prevail, wresting some kind of happy ending from the film and – by extension – the Nazi occupation of France.The film is based on a recently discovered manuscript. Irène Némirovsky, an ultra-nationalist Russian Jew exiled in France, wrote the stories while living under German occupation. In that context 'Suite Francaise' can perhaps be understood as an attempt to humanise an implacable enemy, the natural desire to have love triumph – at least in the imagination. The real story is remarkable and could have made an interesting film, since Irene Nemirovsky's end was not happy and neither love nor common decency prevailed: like 6 million other European Jews she was ultimately betrayed by the people she lived amongst and sent to Auschwitz, where she died.The unending nostalgia for WWII, envisaged as a time of moral simplicities and endless heroism, airbrushes the reality: that millions of 'ordinary' people in every nation in Europe collaborated with the Germans and shared their distrust and hatred of the Jews, while the wealthy admired the Nazis as a bastion against the political left.When poverty comes through the door, the saying goes, love flies out the window. Ignorant hatred of Muslims, xenophobia and anti-semitism are stalking the streets of Europe once again. We should resist these cosy fables, that reduce WWII to a lush setting for romance, and face up to the less palatable realities of our shared past – which no amount of lipstick can gloss over.For a grittier, more complex, troubling and interesting exploration of similar themes see Louis Malle's 1974 film 'Lacombe Lucien.'

Marc Gadelin If you loved the book as much as I did, stay away from that movie! The book was so beautifully written, with so much subtlety. The movie ruined it, it's very heavy handed and the actors can't save it, I felt like I was watching an other Hollywood movie. And I'm not even talking about the factual errors. No wonder it never made it to the big screen here!

kosmasp During war time sacrifices have to be made. Some have to do with our private space, some with our personal space too. All dig into our personal life and depending on the person invading (pun somewhat intended) it will lead to different results. So we may be inclined to paint every Nazi as a bad person or just a demon/devil without any depth or sympathy for that person.This movie does try to delve deeper into it and tell a bit of a different story. War is hard on everybody and depending on how your character is developed you'll make decisions that can be qualified as good or bad, be it in hindsight or just judging at the moment. The drama part does work and there are no easy solutions if any at all. Not an easy but an uncomfortable viewing experience which is exactly what it was meant to be

rps-2 I don't give many films a ten and even when I do, I manage to find a fault or two. This film is about as close to cinematic perfection as it gets. It's a tender love story, a heart rending drama, a well done war picture, a powerful suspense film, an accurate historical rendering. The casting is perfect. The acting is magnificent. The photography is creative. It's neither too short nor too long. The atmosphere is enveloping. Even the damn titles are great! If I wrote a one word review it would be WOW! Nor does it fall into the trap of making all the Germans bad guys and all the French heroes, in fact it's quite the opposite in places. The story is many things, But essentially it documents the impossible and irresolvable personal conflicts that war produces. Okay...one minor error I see somebody else has caught and which I wondered about myself as I watched. The film is set in June of 1940, immediately after the fall of France. Neither Charles DeGaulle nor the Free French had yet emerged. But that minor flaw is outweighed by the sheer magnificence and power of this production. One helluva movie!