French cinema turns to Second World War and German Occupation

French cinema is increasingly turning to the Second World War and the German Occupation for inspiration, as the profusion of recent films proves that the era’s history provides material for fiction.

New Releases Focus on Wartime Figures

Recent months have seen a surge in theatrical releases and diptychs examining historical trajectories from the wartime period. In March, Xavier Giannoli released Les Rayons et les Ombres, which explored the path of Jean Luchaire, a pacifist journalist who became a supporter of Nazi collaboration. Antonin Baudry followed in June with the diptych La Bataille de Gaulle, split into L’âge de fer and J’écris ton nom, charting the general’s role from the June 1940 defeat to the liberation of Paris.

Autumn Fictions Adapt Family Archives

The cinematic exploration continued into September with three distinct fictions examining the era’s turmoil. Elie Chouraqui adapted his graphic novel into Les Héros du Louvre, an unreleased-in-Switzerland feature depicting his grandfather’s night-watchman role in exfiltrating museum masterpieces in 1938. Concurrently, director Emmanuel Marre presented Notre salut, drawing on his great-grandfather’s correspondence with his wife and consultations with historian Marc-Olivier Baruch. The film portrays a minor civil functionary who views Marshal Pétain’s regime as an avenue for career advancement.

These contrasting cinematic treatments of historical compromise and leadership demonstrate how deeply the era’s archival material continues to shape contemporary French dramatic storytelling.

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