Verdun, visions d'histoire (1928)
Directed by Léon Poirier

Film Review

1928 was a year of optimism in Europe.  Ten years after the end of the First World War, the spirit of Franco-German reconciliation was in the air and both countries were looking forward to a future of peace and prosperity.  As part of the tenth anniversary celebration of the signing of the 1918 Armistice, a series of films were commissioned, of which the most significant is this epic documentary style depiction of one of the most notorious WWI battles.  The film was directed by Léon Poirier, one of the great independent filmmakers of his generation who was renowned as much for his humanist perspective as his skill as a director.

Verdun, visions d'histoire is markedly different from previous artistic endeavours made in France on the subject of WWI.  For one thing, it doesn't attempt to apportion blame for what happened, nor does it demonise the German people.  Instead, what it delivers is an authentic reconstruction of the battle of Verdun, showing the obscene folly of war without over-dramatising it, to provide a stark plea to future generations never to go down the same path again.

What is most striking about the film is its trenchant realism, which is achieved principally by use of exterior locations that were the sites where much of the fighting took place in 1916 - sites that still bore the heavy scars of conflict.  Most of the cast was made up of ex-service men who had served in WWI, including the actor Albert Préjean, who would have a huge career in France after the war.  So convincing are the battle scenes that they are often inserted into other films and documentaries as if they were stock shots taken from the real battle.

There is also a poetic dimension to this film, with the harsh realism periodically undercut by some surprising expressionistic touches that bring in elements of subjectivity.  These are achieved through some effective use of superposition which illustrate what the protagonists are imagining and feeling as the world around them is transformed into an incomprehensible nightmare.  The most memorable of these is the highly poignant scene where a wounded soldier on the battlefield imagines the spirits of his fallen comrades being taken to Heaven on a stretcher by the ghosts of their mothers.  Then, later, we see the ghosts of the dead soldiers reclaiming a fort which they had earlier tried in vain to defend against a German onslaught.

The film is divided into three parts, which are described somewhat prosaically as Visions.  These are:  (1) La Force, which shows the build up to the conflict, the evacuation of the civilian population, and the opening of hostilities with German cannon fire;  (2) L'Enfer, which focuses on the German offensive, including the taking of the fort at Vaux, which allowed the German army to break through the French lines; and (3)  Le Destin, dealing with the French counter-attack that succeeded thanks to the Franco-British campaign on the Somme which successfully divided the German forces.

Not only is Verdun, visions d'histoire a stunningly realised war film with intellectual and emotional impact but it also has immense educational value, encouraging the spectator to learn more about the subject.  Admittedly, its analysis of the origins of the conflict are a tad simplistic, but its recording of the various stages in the battle is meticulous and overall the film gives an illuminating insight into one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

Until quite recently, the film only existed in a cut down, poor quality print.  Following the discovery of a complete print in Moscow, the film underwent a painstaking process of restoration in 2006 by Immagine Ritrovata de Bologne, under the direction of the Cinémathèque de Toulouse.  Now fully restored, the film emerges unequivocally as one of the most important war films of the Twentieth Century.

Verdun, visions d'histoire ranks alongside Abel Gance's J'Accuse (1919) and Raymond Bernard's Les Croix du bois (1932) as one of French cinema's greatest war films.  Not only is it a work of great historic importance, giving a valuable visual record of a WWI battle in its shocking entirety, but it provides a powerful yet subtle anti-war message.

Film Synopsis

Early in 1916, a young French soldier returns home to break the news to his mother that he is soon to be sent to the front near Verdun, an area that has so far been untouched by the conflict.  Shortly after his arrival, the German offensive begins.  Under the orders of the German Crown Prince, Verdun must be taken in a relentless assault, bleeding the French army into submission.  From 21st February to 15th December 1916, a fierce conflict rages in the area around Verdun, devastating the region and resulting in casualties on both sides that will run into hundreds of thousands...