Jean-Francois Delassus masterfully weaves together archival documentary footage from World War I with a few choice narrative selections from the likes of D.W. Griffith, Françesco Rosi, Charlie Chaplin, and Sir Richard Attenborough, to illustrate the story of a French soldier/everyman, one of many "young idiots hungry for adventure," who enlists early on and experiences "four years of such intense agony." The soldier's narration guides the viewer through the larger developments of the war, but also the basics of survival, the narrator's experience of cold, fear, hunger and boredom. "A living history lesson of unusual vividness and emotional power." (Dennis Harvey, Variety) Official Selection, 2009 Telluride and Montreal World Film Festivals.

DIR Jean-François Delassus; SCR Isabelle Rabineau; PROD Fabrice Coat, Christine Doublet. France/Belgium, 2008, color, 103 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Monday, November 9, 8:50; Thursday, November 12, 9:10

AFI Member passes will be accepted.

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