Come What May (2015) - Foreign Film Friday

Number Rolled: 52

Movie Name/Year: Come What May (2015)

Tagline: France, May 1940. Millions abandon all they have. One father searches for all that matters.

Genre: Drama, War

Length: 113 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Nord-Ouest Productions, Pathé, Artémis Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Appaloosa Distribution, Clap Trap, Une Hirondelle Productions, Canal+, Ciné+, France Télévisions, SofiTVciné 2, Cofinova 11, Palatine Étoile 12, Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique, Tax Shelter Film Funding, Pictanovo Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Producer: Jonathan Blumenthal, Philip Boëffard, Romain Le Grand, Ève Machuel, Patrick Quinet, Stéphane Riga, Christophe Rossignon

Director: Christian Carion

Writer: Christian Carion, Laure Irrmann, Andrew Bampfield

Actors: August Diehl, Olivier Gourmet, Mathilde Seigner, Alice Isaaz, Matthew Rhys, Joshio Marlon, Thomas Schmauser, Laurent Gerra, Jacques Bonnaffe, Francois Godart, Florence Masure, Rose Lemaire, Simon Ferrante, Axelle Bossard, Franck Andrieux

Stunts: Clément Huet, Eddy Benguedih, Flore Guillermo, Franck Blanc, Frans Boyer, Frédéric Vallet, Gary Cothenet, Grégory Loffredo, Hugo Bariller, Jack-Alexandre Soufflard, Jean Adrien Espiasse, Jean-Charles Rousseau, Jean-Marc Bellu, John Medalin, Julie Guene, Julie Pinault, Laurent Chevalier, Louis-Marie Nyee, Mathieu Lardot, Michel Bouis, Nathalie Pujol, Pascal Guégan, Philippe Guégan, Sean Guégan, Sebastien Colaert, Sebastien Soudais, Sybille Blouin, Thierry Saelens, Thomas Rayr

Blurb from Netflix: Fleeing advancing Nazi forces in May 1940, a group of French villagers are trailed by a Scottish soldier and a German dissenter searching for his son.

Selina’s Point of View:

For a film that was so heavily based on a violent and awful time, there was also a lot of humanity featured.

Personally, I seek out films like this pretty often. The majority of my family is Jewish and, as a result, I was taught about World War II and the holocaust through my years growing up. There were always books and films to teach me about the bleak reality of the time.

This film looked at the war from a different angle than most.

Normally, I’m used to seeing films on WWII from the perspective of a soldier or a holocaust prisoner. It’s pretty rare to get a look at what life was like for other people. In this case, the majority of the film is told from the perspective of a German dissenter and a group of regular villagers from France.

It was such a new perspective to me that I was glued to the screen.

The creators of Come What May were clearly going for a feel that was as close to realism as possible – and they succeeded. What’s more is that they succeeded without finding it necessary to turn every scene into an absolute blood bath.

Each scene involving death was done well, and without the excess gore that a lot of movies tend to rely on.

I really enjoyed watching this film. It was well done from every angle.

Yes, there were a couple of scenes I felt could have been handled a bit differently, but that’s all just a matter of taste, not technique. In reality, those scenes were done perfectly well. Things I didn’t think were clear enough, became clearer later in the film.

I will probably watch this film again, and I’ll be suggesting it to people who don’t mind subtitles.

Cat’s Point of View:

When I saw Netflix’s sub-genre listing that this was a ‘tearjerker,’ I was fairly certain that there would be some ugly crying involved with watching this movie – if it was any good, that is.

I was rather surprised that my eyes remained dry in spite of my pangs of emotion as the film stomped me right in the feels. I must be dehydrated…or something. (Seriously. I have been known to cry over poignant commercials.) Needless to say, my lack of tears had nothing to do with the quality of the film. I thought it was rather good.

I tend to shy away from war films that focus on the grit in the trenches; showing combat from the belly of the beast in the battlefield. Lately, the only time you’ll find me watching one of those is by dice roll or by spousal cajoling.

The point is, I enjoy wartime films more when they center on a story – such as the plight of those fleeing Germany’s invasion of France in the opening volleys of what blossomed into World War II. This movie, which was dedicated to those very people, did just that.

I found it easy to connect with the central characters as they navigated their individual and collective dilemmas. All in all, the cast delivered beautifully. 

The only negative I have is that they cast someone for a ‘Scottish’ soldier that didn’t exhibit a lick of a Scottish accent. What’s up with that?! I liked his performance well enough; but given how much I love the musical quality of Gaelic accents, it was a bit of a let-down.

There were some moments that outright gave me chills, as it put aspects of the conflict in perspective – at least in this featured timeframe. The visuals of evacuees on congested roads and the speed at which panzers seemingly flew across fields in comparison are good examples of the contrasts shown.

While this might not be my favorite war drama, I can at least say that I didn’t hate watching it. I’m just not sure it would come to the top of my mind, though, if someone asked for recommendations.

Languages

Speech Available: French

Subtitles Available: English, Spanish

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 44%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 50%

Metascore - 45/100

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 6.6/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5

Movie Trailer: