It is four years after the end of WWI and there are still bodies that are being found. The grim reality of gathering the mutilated remains of the soldiers that gave their lives in that conflict, is at the center of the story. Two women, Irene, an upper class Parisian, and Alice, a teacher, are looking desperately for a husband and a fiancé, both unaccounted for.The head of the MIA section of the French army, Major Delaplane, has seen enough horrors during his tour of duty. One thing comes clear, he is a man of integrity that is not interested in the politics that want to make a glorious example for the country trying to capitalize on the valor of the fallen men. Delaplane's superiors are more interested in bringing an unidentified soldier to be buried under the Arch of Triumph in Paris. He will stand for all men fallen in the different wars France has entered.At first, the bureaucratic Delaplane and the aristocrat Irene clash because he feels she wants to exert her class and connections in order to find the husband she wants to find. On the other hand, he is more sympathetic toward the poor Alice, a humble woman without pretensions. Through a twist of destiny, Irene and Alice, who bond in unexpected fashion, are closer than they know by the missing man.Bernard Tavernier is a director that always brings integrity to any project in which he presents on the screen. In this film, which he co-wrote with Jean Cosmos, an aspect of the war is looked at from a different perspective that is not dealt in many other anti-war films. In subtle ways Mr. Tavernier shows the viewer a side that most of us will never have to face. His Delaplane is a man that has seen horrors as he goes to the sites of recent battles to identify the dead, while his superiors are more interested in another aspect of the conflict that does not take into consideration the suffering the war causes on all the surviving members of the dead men.Any film with Philippe Noiret is worth taking a look. Mr. Noiret in his distinguished career humanized the characters he was asked to bring to life, as he does with his Deplane. The late actor shows an integrity in his Major Deplane that shows his affinity to the material. Sabine Azema, gives a nuanced performance as the rich Irene. Pascale Vignal is also effective as Alice. The vast supporting cast does excellent work for Mr. Tavernier.

Philippe Noiret plays a military bureaucrat who is meticulously trying to catalogue the casualties of WWI. He and two women cross paths during the excavation of a train that was buried in a tunnel by German explosives. This would make for a great existential movie, but it's all talk talk talk. The dialogue is endless, and, with the long running time, the whole picture seems that way, too. The film would be much more powerful if it demonstrated its themes more visually. Instead, the emotions come off as somewhat flatter than they deserve to be. The production is also poor; it feels like it was made for television. And the musical score is so weak it takes the film down a peg itself. It's still worth watching, but I think it really could have been a lot better.

I take issue with some of the negative reviews regarding the storyline. It works. The superb acting of Noiret is better than usual and he's great when he's merely being ordinary. This is a powerful film about the nihilism following the end of la grande guerre. The character of Noiret, a man torn by complex emotional conditions identifying the unidentified, finds himself torn between his own moral code, his emerging love for a widow looking for her dead husband, his repulsion at the profiteering capitalism of industrialists and his secret knowledge of the dead man's bigamy. The intensity of Gallic emotions are often misunderstood by us Americans (too much English influence for my tastes, je suppose) but this is an excellent film with all the necessary elements for a classic. See it. Decide for yourself!

This is a powerful film with a genuinely epic feel. The backdrop of a post-war battle field is movingly sombre, with sets scattered with the last remains of soldiers, some hastily dug graves, and hoards of women mourning the loss of husbands and sons. There is no sense of victory or joy after the war, and its central character, Delaplane - brilliantly played by Philippe Noiret - portrays the mood of grim realism of what the war has done to his country and to his life. Unfortunately, the film is let down by a somewhat feeble love story involving Delaplane which has an unsatisfactory and unconvincing resolution. At way over two hours in length, the lack of a substantial central plot is more than noticeable. Towards the end, the film becomes slow and almost boring, despite some impressive visual images. It is almost as if the grimness of the subject matter has completely overwhelmed the film. However, considering how grim the subject matter is, that is hardly surprising.