Uranus

Set in the immediate aftermath of World War 2, Claude Berri’s film observes the fallout of a devastating war upon the inhabitants of a small village.

The Nazi collaborator Maxime Loin is being hidden by the ambivalent Archambaud.  The risk is huge as the whole town is looking for the man, leading to an insidious witch-hunt that will tear apart a cast of conflicting characters.

In stark contrast to the heroics of Berri’s other Second World War drama Lucie Aubrac, Uranus portrays more morally ambiguous figures of the time.  Collaborators, communists and the indifferent are shown in their full colours: idealistic, hypocritical and vengeful.  Uranus is adapted from the book by Marcel Aymé, a controversial anti-Semitic writer who criticised the post-war punishment of collaborators.  However, Berri and his sister, co-writer Arlette Langmann, tone down any political discourse and refuse to take sides or pass judgement.  Instead they deliver a measured and powerful portrait of numerous groups of people who are caught in a moral and physical wasteland.  The array of complex characters are given life by a stellar ensemble cast including Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Michel Blanc, Fabrice Luchini and Myriam Boyer.