SummaryAn affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of Hortense, the family's matriarch (Nathalie Baye), must grapple with the workload while the men, including two sons, are off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, the hard-sc... Read More
Directed By:Xavier Beauvois
Written By:Xavier Beauvois, Frédérique Moreau, Marie-Julie Maille, Ernest Pérochon
The Guardians
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
81
User score
Mixed or Average
5.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
81
87% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
13% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 16, 2018
100
The performances are extraordinary, as they often are in Beauvois’ films, with Baye a study in quiet suffering and Bry wonderfully enigmatic — seemingly simple, but hinting at a soul capable of expansion and adaptation.
May 9, 2018
90
The Guardians is an intimate French epic, elegantly made and quietly emotional, a family story filled with characters whose lives we sink into, feeling the hope, the sadness, the sorrow and the joy right along with those on the screen.
May 3, 2018
80
Meditative in its pacing, painterly in composition, quietly devastating in its low-key drama, the latest film from Xavier Beauvois shares some of the slow-burning potency of his acclaimed study of religious faith, Of Gods And Men.
May 3, 2018
80
The Guardians is a historical drama that doesn’t lose itself in decorative period detail, a beautifully photographed chronicle of rural existence that refrains from picturesque sentimentality and grinding misery, the usual modes for this kind of film.
Apr 30, 2018
75
The film captures the pictorial beauty of old-fashioned farm life, but director Xavier Beauvois is careful not to romanticize hard labor for its own sake.
May 1, 2018
58
What starts out as a testament to female fortitude, reminding us that sacrifices were also made on the home front, gradually turns into high-toned soap opera.
User score
Mixed or Average
5.6
61% Positive
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
11% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
28% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Jun 3, 2018
8
An understated, poetic film set in a quiet countryside during a tumultuous time. Serves as an alternative perspective to war and its casualties. Nathalie Baye, Laura Smet, Iris Bry all gave a first-rate performance. The pacing is on the slow side. Needs patience to take it all in.
Production Company:
- Les Films du Worso
- Pathé
- France 3 Cinéma
- Versus Production
- Rita Productions
- Orange Studio
- KNM
- Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS)
- Canal+
- Ciné+
- France Télévisions
- Cofinova 13
- Soficinéma 13
- Indéfilms 5
- Cinéfeel 3
- Eurimages
- Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
- Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral Belge
- Cinéforom
- Loterie Suisse Romande
- Mission du Centenaire de la Première Guerre Mondiale
- Caisse d'Epargne Ile-de-France
- Inver Tax Shelter
Release Date:May 4, 2018
Duration:2 h 18 m
Rating:R
Tagline:France 1915. Men on the battlefield. Women on the homefront.
Awards
César Awards, France
• 4 Nominations
Lumiere Awards, France
• 2 Nominations
BFI London Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
