User Reviews

As an American, I appreciate this look at Charles de Gaulle.

Americans are sadly, not too informed about the man.

This film explains the political maneuvering it took for him to break away from what was to become the leaders of the collaborationist government, and become the leader of The Free French.

From Montcornet near Laon (where De Gaulle manages to stop the German army) to the BBC in London where De Gaulle made his famous call ,a very interesting historical film.

A good description of the situation in France at the end of May 1940, the talks of De Gaulle with Paul Reynaud, the meetings with Pétain and Weygand, the evacuation of the government. It's also an interesting film about peronal relations, especially between De Gaulle and Churchill; their first meeeting in Downing Street: both men have the same idea, fighting against Germany (Churchill will never surrender).

Good performances of Michel Vuillermoz, Clément Roussier, Christian Rodska, Michel Bompoil and David Lowe.

The film, which sheds light on General De Gaulle's role during the dramatic days of France's surrender, is a well-executed made-for-television production, utilizing all the technical resources typical of this kind of production. When considered within this context, it is undoubtedly a solid achievement, featuring a well-crafted narrative and editing that align with the overall production quality.

It's a shame that, with probably not significantly more resources, the production could have reached an even higher cinematic level and competed with the best films in cinemas. Everything is done correctly - the performances, the settings, the costumes, the makeup - but it remains within the bounds of television quality, on par with the typical series production for the small screen.

In any case, the undeniable educational effort that this type of production aims to achieve is where its merit lies, and undoubtedly, with a higher budget, even more excellent results could have been obtained.