My movie snob friend sort of recommended this film to me based off of my enjoying Amelie and after she watched more of Audrey Tautou's films. She cautioned me that the film is long and is aptly named.
Just before the Battle of the Somme in World War I, five soldiers are sentenced to die following a court martial. They have all been court-martialed for cowardice after they have all become injured on their hands. The idea is that they were trying to injure themselves so that they will get sent home. Everyone in the trenches is weary of war and many are experiencing shell-shock too so it isn't a stretch. Unfortunately the penalty is death by being sent out to No Man's Land between the German and French lines. The men will have nothing but the clothes on their backs. It is expected that the Germans will finish them off.
Fast forward to about four years after the war has ended. Mathilde (played by Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who lives in Brittany. She was engaged to one of the soldiers who was court-martialed and his name was Manech (played by Gaspard Ulliel). He was the youngest of the soldiers who was court-martialed. Everyone tells Mathilde that Manech was killed in a battle that followed his being sent to No Man's Land. Mathilde refuses to believe that Manech isn't dead and determines to find him. Using her inheritance money to hire a private detective and her own ingenuity with a goodly amount of luck, Mathilde searches for Manech.
Along the way Mathilde faces ups and downs as she listens to various accounts from the events of the day of the battle that Manech was supposedly killed during. Some of the accounts come directly from soldiers who were there as well as from her private detective's research. She learns of some of the corruption that plagued the French military that seems to have directly affected Manech and his fellow court-martialed soldiers.
Mathilde also thinks on her life with Manech so far starting from childhood and continuing on to just before he left. Mathilde was afflicted by polio as a child and as such has limp. Manech was first her best friend, then her first love.
While Mathilde is searching for Manech, it turns out that someone else is doing research of her own. The lady is named Tina Lombardi (played by Marion Cotillard). Tina was dating one of the five soldiers who was court-martialed and she appears to be on a vendetta against the system that killed her beloved.
The movie is long but since I was prepared for it, I wasn't bothered. Also it is a French film and as such is subtitled so if you don't like subtitled films, you're missing out on a great movie. The story is apparently based off of a novel that I am assuming is excellent because the movie was so good. The acting was great. While I don't agree with desertion, this movie did a great job of depicting the desperate measures that people can be driven to in the face of vicious circumstances beyond their control. The twists and turns that occur throughout this movie played out well and the movie had a great ending.
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