Suite française

Handsomely mounted production based on Ukrainian-Jewish author Irene Nemirovsky's posthumously published (written during WW11,published in 2004) highly acclaimed novel. Cinematography is gorgeous, period costuming is accurate and casting is peerless. The film presents a doomed love story which illustrates the complexity of human feelings in the face of difficult circumstances. There is tension, suspense, love and pain. There are, however some of the usual tropes eg. the evil Nazi vs. the cultured, reluctant German officer, the dedicated member of the underground and the fear and lies emerging from wartime occupation. The film and the book offer not only the female point of view (as opposed to the usual testosterone fueled war films such as last year's The Fury) but also a unique perspective because Nemirovsky did not survive to see the war's outcome (She died of typhus in Auschwitz) An excellent film with a traditional narrative and I hope more people see it.