Folle embellie (2004)
Directed by Dominique Cabrera

Film Synopsis

It is June 1940 and France has capitulated to Nazi Germany.  Forewarned of the arrival of the German army, the staff at an asylum in Orléans take flight, leaving behind the mental patients in their care.  The latter are not slow to take advantage of their sudden, unexpected release and take to the road, eager to join the world from which they have been excluded for so long.  They are led by Fernand, a psychopath who is prone to outbursts of extreme violence.  Fortunately, he has his wife Alida and son Julien to help keep him in check.

After several days of aimless wandering all over the countryside, the party arrives at a farm and is offered work during the harvest period.  Some of the former patients find it harder to adapt to their newfound freedom than others, but the majority make the most of the opportunity it brings them to enjoy what life has to offer.  Julien, for one, is not unhappy with the way things have turned out.  He has met a girl called Lucie and falls foul of another form of madness - love...