Women at War Review 2023: Accurate Historical of the Beginning of The First World War

Cast: Audrey Fleurot, Julie De Bona, Camille Lou, Sofia Essaïdi

Director: Alexandre Laurent

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

The review of Women at War (Les Combattantes) is a series that tells the drama of the First World War from the point of view of women. After the international success of the French miniseries The Bonfire of Destiny, also born for national TV and made available on Netflix, Alexandre Laurent returns behind the camera to tell another historical story by adopting a point of female view. Together with him, three key faces from the last show also return to the cast, namely Audrey Fleurot, Julie De Bona, and Camille Lou, with the addition of the French-Moroccan actress Sofia Essaïdi. This time, however, the theme and the scale of events are much more ambitious: Women at War takes us in fact to the Vosges region at the beginning of the First World War, in September 1914.

This time, however, the theme and the scale of events are much more ambitious: Women at War takes us in fact to the Vosges region at the beginning of the First World War, in September 1914. The goal, however, is not to tell the horrors of life in the trenches, but to retrace the story of four female characters and, through their vicissitudes, to photograph that historical turning point that revolutionized the conception of women in the collective imagination. With the men engaged at the front it was women of all ages and social conditions who took control of their destiny and that of their nations, playing a key role in the society, economy, and daily life of the time. Here is our review of The Fighters, produced for the French national broadcaster TF1 and now available on Netflix.

Women at War Review 2023: The Story

France, September 1914. Suzanne Fort is a nurse in Paris, on the run from an unjust accusation of murder. The victim’s husband, who works in the French judicial police, is hunting her and is ready to take justice into his own hands, but a woman, Jeanne, tries to bring her to safety in Switzerland. She arrived in the village of Saint Paulin in the Vosges, however, Suzanne will have to deal with the horror of war, and she will end up putting herself at the service of an improvised military hospital, set up in a convent. Even the mother superior Agnes is put to the test by the rapid change of events and by the death of a friendly face, but she will soon have to get used to the new reality. An encounter with the wounded who crowd the corridors of the convent every day, however, will end up undermining her certainties, and will even lead her to question her faith.

Meanwhile, with the war and the soldiers, prostitutes also arrived in Saint Paulin, and flock to the brothel of Marcel Dumont, a ruthless man ready for anything. Among the women, there is also Marguerite de Lancastel, a beautiful, determined and independent Parisian prostitute who is secretly looking for a person within the French encampment. Her questions and her very showy appearance, however, will attract her attention and will cause her to be accused of being a spy in the service of the Germans. Caroline Dewitt, on the other hand, is the wife of an industrialist forced to leave for the front, where she will put her engineering skills at the service of the nation. Left alone to lead her husband’s factory, she will have to deal with the forced recruitment of her workers, with the hostility of her mother-in-law and above all with the aims of her brother-in-law Charles, who intends to supplant her at any cost to escape the call of the lever.

Women at War Review 2023 and Analysis

From an acting point of view, Le Fighter works in the best possible way and further consecrates the talent of three prominent faces in the transalpine television scene, namely Audrey Fleurot (Marguerite), Julie De Bona (mother Agnese) and Camille Lou (Susanne ), already protagonists in 2019 of the solid miniseries Destinies in flames – Le Bazar de la Charité. Equally valid is the test offered by the new entry Sofia Essaïdi, called to take on the role of novice entrepreneur Caroline Dewitt: her test has nothing to envy to those of the other three stars and allows, indeed, in our opinion, to give life to the most successful character of the series.

Compared to Destini in flames, Women at War stands out for a decidedly more accurate and in-depth construction of the antagonists and secondary characters: despite the clear division into four narrative strands dedicated to the point of view of the protagonists, the faces and stories also emerge from the story of numerous other characters, such as the doctor Joseph Duvernet, the ruthless Marcel Dumont and the petty Charles Dewitt, well played by their respective actors. Overall, we can say that one of the strengths of the series is represented precisely by the choral performance of its cast: the emotions are authentic and convincing, and the emphasis on the drama, sometimes decidedly marked, however, reconciles particularly well with the choice of setting the miniseries in September 1914, in a world that still hasn’t gotten used to the horrors of war, and still dreams that it might be a passing nightmare.

From a narrative point of view, however, it should be noted how the screenplay moves very rigidly, set in a forest of very conventional clichés and stereotypes. There is the ruthless and heartless brothel owner, the selfless and charming doctor, a mother seeking a child, a petty brother who wants to usurp the family assets, the nun who questions her faith, and so much more. In short, Women at War seems to put us in front of the entire paraphernalia of television and entertainment literature, and it is rather difficult to imagine that it could be an authentic story, inspired by the events of the time. Although, as has already been said, the performances of the cast are very valid and allow us to empathize with the characters, the feeling remains strong that behind each of them, there is a simple theatrical mask, a fixed role that predetermines their actions and flattens any aspiration to complexity.

Above all, the twists and turns that crowd the second half of the series are affected: to those who already master the television language, the story will seem to move on rigidly predetermined tracks, and various narrative turns could end up being predictable and scarcely innovative. All in all, however, the series still manages to achieve its goal, which is to make healthy entertainment without too many pretensions. The result is an enjoyable and compelling novel, albeit not at all authorial, which will not fail to glue soap lovers to the sofa and, more generally, anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the adventures of the four protagonist heroines.

A note of merit, however, goes to the majestic sets of the series, which from the smallest detail to the most majestic external shots manage to make us breathe the atmosphere of the First World War for the duration of the eight episodes. It is a result of hard work: in the summer of 2021, the shooting of Women at War required the use of aerial shots and the construction of ambitious sets, but also digital technology in post-production. On the practical side, the mobilization – with 3,000 extras, 600 military uniforms, 700-period costumes and 200 litters of fake blood – was truly impressive, and reveals a great mastery of the historical era in question, which translates into painstaking attention in avoiding anachronisms and falls in style. Interiors, objects, weapons and clothing: everything takes us back to the time of the beginning of the Great War, and contributes to making this miniseries a precious testimony, albeit net of its many narrative limitations.

Women at War Review 2023: The Last Words

Women at War amuses, entertains and offers a particularly accurate historical reconstruction of the beginning of the First World War while falling victim to an overly stereotyped and unoriginal script. The merit goes undeniably to the silent work of the team of historical consultants of Women at War, among which the authoritative figure of Jean-Pierre Verney stands out in particular. In short, from a technical and scenographic point of view, the series represents a huge step forward compared to Destinies in flames, and will certainly not fail to capture the attention of history lovers.