Line of Demarcation

Pierre is an officer in the defeated French forces. He returns injured to his village, sitting on the border between Occupied France and the Free Zone, to discover his house confiscated by the occupation army and his wife part of the Resistance group helping escaped prisoners to reach the Free Zone. When the German forces try to locate the members of the Resistance, the villagers all participate in the hunt, and it is impossible to be indecisive. Based on Colonel Rémy's memoir, Claude Chabrol presents this historical drama. The plot constantly moves forward, and what is exquisite is how round the characters are, including a Gestapo agent who could easily be considered the father of Hans Landa, and how Chabrol uses this group of characters to offer a portrait of French society as a whole. As usual with this ironic director, this is not a romantic film, but it is abundantly clear who the good and bad guys are and that one must choose between them.