The Officers' Ward

It is the First World War and Adrien, a young and handsome lieutenant, suffers great injury when a shell explosion blows away the lower part of his face. He is taken to a hospital where he spends the next four years undergoing reconstructive surgery. Left to ponder the life and loves he left behind, Adrien finds salvation in an unusual form…

This powerful, exquisitely shot piece of cinema will have the viewer wondering why on earth François Dupeyron has not received further acclaim abroad.
The Officers’ Ward sits up there with other great works reflecting on the horrors of war and the resiliency of the human spirit, from All Quiet on the Western Front to The English Patient. The latter, with its disfigured protagonist instantly chimes with Dupeyron’s film, with Eric Caravaca delivering a career-defining performance as a man burdened with onerous physical, mental and emotional scars.

Although not awarded accordingly, the film was a hot tip in competition at Cannes and walked away with two French Academy Awards in a fiercely contested year featuring respective commercial and critical darlings Amélie and Read My Lips. Tetsuo Nagata (La Vie en Rose, Micmacs) was duly primed for his sublime cinematography, while the ever-reliable André Dussollier (united once again here with fellow Alain Resnais regular Sabine Azéma) received the nod for Best Supporting Actor.

A moving, challenging and deeply engrossing work, The Officers’ Ward is a testament to the incomparable potential of cinema to evoke our struggles and victories, our lives and history.