France, 1914. The destinies of four women intersect : Marguerite, a mysterious Parisian prostitute, Caroline, propelled to the head of the family factory, Agnes, Mother Superior of a requisitioned convent and Suzanne, a feminist nurse.
Women at War (French: Les Combattantes) is an eight-episode Franco-Belgian historical miniseries created by Cécile Lorne and Camille Treiner and directed by Alexandre Laurent, which originally aired on Radio Télévision Suisse's RTS1, followed by RTBF's La Une and then TF1 in September 2022.
It has been available on Netflix since October 2022 for French viewers and January 2023 internationally. The series has appeared among the Netflix top 10 shows in 58 countries the following week.
Contents
Synopsis
In 1914, during the very first month of WW1, the destinies of four women intersect in the small town of Saint-Paulin, in the Franco-German border area of the Vosges: Marguerite de Lancastel, a mysterious Parisian sex worker; Caroline Dewitt, propelled to the head of the family factory; Mother Agnès, Mother Superior of a requisitioned convent turned into a military hospital; and Suzanne Faure, an abortionist nurse on the run.
Cast
Brothel
Audrey Fleurot: Marguerite de Lancastel, looking for someone on the Vosges frontlines
Camille Lou: Suzanne Faure, nurse at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, a former abortionist, accused of murder
Tom Leeb: Major Joseph Duvernet, military surgeon
Laurent Gerra: Abbé Vautrin
Marie Mallia: Sister Geneviève
Maëva Dambron: Sister Clarence
Bélinda Portoles: Sister Bélinda
Truck Factory
Sofia Essaïdi: Caroline Dewitt, Victor's wife.
Sandrine Bonnaire: Éléonore Dewitt, mother of Charles and Victor.
Grégoire Colin: Charles Dewitt
Lionel Erdogan: Victor Dewitt, the factory owner
Stacy Grewis Belotti: Madeleine Dewitt, Victor and Caroline's daughter
Michaël Vander-Meiren: Jean
Aurélie Boquien: Denise
Catherine Artigala: Germaine
French Army
Tchéky Karyo: General Duvernet
Maxence Danet-Fauvel: Lieutenant Colin de Renier
Édouard Eftimakis: Lieutenant Léon Duvernet
Mikaël Mittelstadt: Gustave, known as Gus
Thomas Salsmann: Brief
Jérémy Wulc: Lieutenant Passembec
Hervé Sogne: Colonel Keller
Samuel Giuranna: Colonel Lehmann
Nicolas Van Beveren: Captain Maurice Delille
Others
Romane Portail: Jeanne Charrier
Vincent Rottiers: Lucien Charrier
Cassiopée Mayance: Claudine Charrier
Pascal Houdus: Till von Hoffstaten
Maximilien Poullein: Karl, German aviator negotiating with the French double agent
Jean-Michel Noirey: President Raymond Poincaré
Noam Morgensztern (of Comédie-Française) : Louis Compoing, the Parisian detective hunting Suzanne Faure
Théo Costa-Marini : adjudant Bernard Bergeret, of the Saint-Paulin gendarmerie
Ulysse Mengue : commandant Clovis Dudillot, of the Saint-Paulin gendarmerie
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.0/10.
Joel Keller wrote in his review on Decider: "STREAM IT. Women At War starts a bit dry, but by the end of its first episode, viewers can see that the drama will start to be amped up, beyond the violence inherent in war."
Kayleigh Dray wrote for Stylist: "Reactions to the series have been largely positive, with many praising its complex female characters, excellent twists and turns, and unflinching ability to portray 'the true horrors of World War I, both on the field and off of it.' Others, meanwhile, have thanked producers for adopting a non-exploitative approach when weaving the stories of the four women at its center. And plenty have piled praise on cinematographers for all of those incredible panoramas of the war-ravaged French countryside, too."
Article from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), where it is maintained by volunteer editors.
Trailer
Where to watch
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