Capitaine Conan (1996)

Director, Bertrand Tavernier. (129min)
Set in the immediate aftermath of the Great War, the film follows the activities of a French infantry company serving in Bulgaria. Long exposure to grinding combat has brutalised the soldiers and Conan discovers that his war service has left him unsuited to peacetime. Tavernier reflects on the martial values that have made his characters effective soldiers but leave them with nowhere to go in the absence of war. The film’s climax returns the company to battle against Bolsheviks along the Soviet border, but the contradictions explored in the film remain.