LA LIGNE DE VIE

France

Fiction

24 December 1916. On the other side of a German checkpoint, a truck carrying mail is stopped and riddled with bullets. Inside, a man lies dead. Another man and a woman, on a postal mission, proclaim their innocence in the death of their travelling companion and their presence in enemy territory. The radio that was guiding them had apparently cut out until they found themselves in no man's land. ‘There's no way they could have got past the roadblock unless they were working for the Krauts. And so, On Christmas Eve 1916, a cross-examination began to uncover the real reason for the presence of postmen and enemy couriers in the trenches.

Written & directed by: Hugo Becker
Produced by: Laurent Helas, Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin
Cinematography: Tommaso Fiorilli
Editing: Julia Maby
Production Design: Eric Chapuis, Philippe Van Herwijnen
Costume Design: Elsa Depardieu
Make-Up & Hair: Sylvie Ferry
Original Score: Romain Trouillet
Sound: Dominique Warnier
Visual Effects: Etienne Jaxel-Truer, Benjamin Savary
Casting: Lucie Llopis
Cast: Alexis Manenti (Pierre), Jeanne Goursaud (Katel), Damien Jouillerot (Bruno), Gilles Cohen (Lieutenant Bazin), David Talbot (Caporal Turenne)

Statement of the director:
Desproges. "The enemy is stupid, he thinks we're the enemy, when in fact he is."
We laugh at this line, but it also makes us feel the whole paradox of war, of what we are when we find ourselves fighting for one country against another, of what we can become.
I also wanted to share something that was close to my heart. It's a bit like a legacy, not just as a French person, but also as someone from Alsace-Moselle. I was born in Metz, my great-grandfather fought in the First World War, and during the Second World War, my grandfather joined the Resistance.
I had the opportunity to talk to my grandfather about this on several occasions. He told me many stories and showed me letters, which made the biggest impression on me. Most of the stories came from there.
In a way, they are the only faithful memories that remain from those events. And I could feel the emotion that ran through him simply by reading those letters.
I read one that really moved me. Here's an excerpt: ‘Your letters are precious. They remind me that I'm human, that one day I'll come home, that I'm expected, that I'm not doing this for nothing.’
These letters made me want to learn more about postal workers during the war, and I discovered the unsung heroes that they too were. I wanted to pay tribute to them and to the women who were also sometimes forgotten in the Great War.
One of the letters I read told how, in the hell of the trenches, there was a fountain located in no man's land, between German and French territory.
This was a common situation at the time. And how the soldiers, who had orders to shoot at each other all day long, had come to a non-aggression agreement around this fountain, where they would even talk to each other and exchange stories, particularly about homesickness and how much they missed their families, and sometimes even show each other photos ... I found that fascinating.
Behind every rifle, regardless of which side it was on, there was a soul. That's what I wanted to focus on first. Then, in the current political climate, it seemed appropriate to shine a light on the unsung heroes of another era. I wanted to draw inspiration from them and convey the nobility of their actions. Because in this era marked by fear and terror, which is part of our collective heritage, some people managed to retain their humanity. This film therefore has particular resonance in the current context, and I wanted to make a pacifist film.
And finally, because it is important that this post-war slogan continues to resonate in our minds:
Never again!

Production, World Sales:
Nouvelle Donne Productions
http://www.nouvelledonne-productions.com