Marine Francen
2017 France/Belgium
98 minutes
In the midst of Napoleon’s 1851 coup d’état, a remote French village is depleted of all its men, leaving only the women to tend to the fields while wondering what became of their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers. Into this matriarchal society wanders a stranger (Alban Lenoir), his presence stirring up both political suspicion and carnal desire among the young women, who view him as their last chance to repopulate the community. Through bucolic, golden-hued images that recall the paintings of Jean-François Millet, director Marine Francen weaves a quietly provocative, fable-like tale that rewrites its historical moment from a female perspective.
