Les Otages (1938)
Directed by Raymond Bernard

Film Review

This engaging wartime comedy-drama from director Raymond Bernard features two of the most well-known actors of the 1930s: Charpin and Saturnin Fabre.  Although they are virtually forgotten today, these two immensely talented character actors had distinguished film careers, each bringing great depth and intelligence to their characterisation.  One of the pleasures of Les Otages is that it provides an opportunity to see these two great actors at the height of their powers in a film that does each of them great justice.  The film is also well-served by it supporting cast, which includes many talented actors of the period, such as Pierre Larquey, Annie Vernay and Noël Roquevert.

Les Otages is in many ways a strange film.  It was made in 1938, when fears of another Europe-wide conflict were rife and France was feeling threatened by its fascist neighbours.  This would appear to be an odd time for a director to make a film about the First World War, and even stranger that it would contain strong comic elements.  The uncertainty of the time in which the film was made is reflected in its schizoid nature: intensely gloomy sequences, filmed in moody film noir fashion, are balanced by odd moments of near-slapstick comedy.

Whilst not obviously an anti-war film, it conveys some powerful anti-war sentiment, which is marvellously encapsulated in the final scene in which the two rivals, Beaumont and Rossignol, finally bury the hatchet.  This is almost an invitation for the two sides in the impending war to resolve their differences peacefully, rather than risk destroying an entire continent.  Needless to say, events had progressed too far by the time the film was released in 1939 and war was inevitable.

Not surprisingly, the film suffered badly because of the outbreak of war in 1939.  Several cuts were made to the film, reducing its runtime by around twenty minutes.  Having been all but forgotten for many years, the film has recently been restored to its original form from two badly edited versions.

Thanks to its rich characterisation and almost neo-realist photography, Les Otages is a compelling work which says so much about the period in which it was made, and also a great deal about human nature.  It shows the importance of the family, the need for small communities to stay together in a time of crisis, the futility of petty differences.   It also shows the fear and self-doubt that accompanies well-meaning acts of heroism.  The best example of the latter is the hilarious but rather touching sequence in which the five hostages take their turn to nip behind a haystack to relieve their bladder as they walk across the countryside to their doom.  This scene caused great offence in 1939 as it was interpreted as an affront to patriotism.  A sad state of affairs indeed when showing one's fear implies you are unpatriotic, as if courage and fearlessness were the same thing.

Another curious thing about this film is the way in which the German soldiers are portrayed.  If this film had been made straight after World War II, it is probable that the Germans would have be portrayed as nasty trigger-happy psychopaths who take a sadistic pleasure out of murdering innocents.  In Les Otages, the German officers have a self-restraint and nobility that prevents them from being seen as monsters.  Certainly their threat is very real: you do no doubt for an instant that unless they get what they want they will raise the town to the ground.  Yet, despite this, the film does not goad us into hating the German enemy.  Indeed, the only person who is killed in this film is a German soldier; not one of the townspeople suffers so much as a gentle slap on the wrists from the German invaders.  It seems unreal that the French would make a wartime film without demonising the Germans but, just as in Jean Renoir's La Grande illusion (1937), the film paints a surprisingly moderate picture of German aggression.   Could it be that the Second World War, with its very visible demonstrations of Nazi barbarity, altered our perception of the First World War, to the extent that we now perceive all German soldiers, in whatever conflict, as mindless killing machines?

In addition to being a valuable record of its time, Les Otages is also a compelling piece of drama, in which moments of tension are eased by some carefully judged use of comedy.  The film shows the necessity for courage in troubled times but it also conveys the fear and anxiety which accompanies personal acts of bravery - true heroism.  The subplot of the rivalry between the mayor and the proud châtelain provides an effective allegory within the wartime setting, ending on a note of optimism.  Perhaps, one day, humanity will learn that conflict leads to nothing but senseless destruction.  Or maybe it is a cry of despair: even when we know this is the case, we carry on making the same mistake - fighting and destroying, until, finally, there is nothing left to fight over.

Film Synopsis

For many years, the tranquillity of a rural French town has been disturbed by the on-going feud between the mayor Beaumont and the country gentleman Rossignol. Unbeknown to either of them, the mayor's daughter Annie is being courted by Rossignol's son, Pierre.  It is August 1914 and war is suddenly declared.  The young men of the town, Pierre Rossignol included, are drafted into the French army and sent into battle against the encroaching Germany armies.  The town soon falls into enemy hands and the Germans arrive demanding provisions.  At this moment, Pierre Rossignol has returned to the town with the mayor's daughter, after having been married.  They are disturbed by a German soldier whom Pierre kills in self-defence.  When the Germans later find the dead body they give the mayor an ultimatum.  He must deliver five men, who will be held as hostages and executed unless the man who killed the German soldier gives himself up. The mayor volunteers to be the first hostage and organises a meeting of the town's men to find four others who will share his fate...