Un village français

Un village français
Created by	Frédéric Krivine Philippe Triboit Emmanuel Daucé
Starring	Robin Renucci Audrey Fleurot Marie Kremer Francis Renaud Nicolas Gob and other
Country of origin	France
Original language(s)	French German
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	54
Production
Running time	42/43 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	France 3
Picture format	HDTV
Original run	June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04) – present

Un village français (A French Village) is a French television drama series created by chief writer Frédéric Krivine and principal director Philippe Triboit, with the assistance of historical consultant Jean-Pierre Azéma. It is set in Villeneuve, a fictional subprefecture, in the Jura, in German–occupied France during the Second World War. The series was first broadcast on France 3 in June 2009, and has also been shown in Belgium, Switzerland and Canada on TV5 Monde and on MBC in South Korea. A seventh series, expected to be the last, is planned for 2016.

Synopsis

In June 1940, German military forces invade the fictional village of Villeneuve, which is located along the French-German border in the Department (province) of Jura, France. The village is put into disarray by the occupying German military that quickly takes control of all aspects of Villeneuve life, including the subjugation of the local government and police. During the invasion, many residents are either killed or wounded as the survivors attempt to rebuild from the carnage, while also trying to make sense of the German occupation and the new order that has descended upon their village.

Over the course of the series, viewers witness the evolution of main characters, and a variety of minor and recurring characters, as they resist, adapt, or collaborate to varying degrees with the occupying German forces that includes a strong Gestapo presence. The series also presents, in later seasons, the perspective of a German SS officer, Heinrich Müller, who investigates acts of resistance and helps to administer and enforce German rule in the village as the series' main antagonist.

Each season of Un Village Francais corresponds to one year of the occupation, with the exception of season 1 and season 2 that jointly cover 1940.^[1] Stories are set almost exclusively in and around Villenueve at locations like the village's school, private residences, police headquarters, German military and SS headquarters, brothel, government offices, local businesses, and surrounding farms and countryside.

Main and supporting characters' individual loyalties, friendships, morals, and family ties are routinely put to the test as a result of greed, hunger, violence, antisemitism, power struggles, and due to unseen events occurring during World War II as the village's resources and manpower are increasingly diverted towards supporting the German war effort.

All political dissent and resistance by the occupied villagers is brutally repressed by certain members of the Villeneuve police, the newly formed Milice, and also by the Gestapo that uses coercion, torture, and murder to achieve their goal of a subdued populace whom they view as inferior. The Gestapo and German military leaders also engage in rounding up the village's Jewish population for deportation to foreign ghettos and concentration camps by putting pressure upon the local police and political leaders to meet strict Jewish deportation quotas.

Other story lines focus upon the formation and coalescence of disparate French resistance groups in the area including the local communist party, Jewish resistance fighters, French Forces of the Interior, police sympathetic to the cause, and a ragtag group of inexperienced fighters hiding in the surrounding wooded areas that is comprised primarily of disaffected youths fleeing the German policy of Service du travail obligatoire (obligatory work), a program that provides manpower for factories based in Germany. In season six (1944), after the Allies liberate Paris, the French resistance makes contact with members of the U.S. Army working behind enemy lines, and begins to cooperate directly with the Allies to help sabotage German military operations.

Cast members

Main cast (in alphabetical order)

Robin Renucci, in costume as Daniel Larcher.

Recurring cast (in alphabetical order)

Guest (in alphabetical order)

Robin Renucci, in costume as Daniel Larcher.

References

External links

• Un village français at the Internet Movie Database