Women at War (Les Combattantes) is a Franco-Belgian miniseries consisting of eight episodes spanning 52 minutes each. The series is created by Cécile Lorne and directed by Alexandre Laurent. Produced by Marc Brégain and Iris Bucher, the show originally aired on RTS Un in Switzerland, La Une in Belgium and TF1 in France before moving to Netflix.
Women at War Cast
This show stars Julie de Bona, Audrey Fleurot, Camille Lou, Sofia Essaïdi, Sandrine Bonnaire, Tchéky Karyo, Laurent Gerra, Tom Leeb, Yannick Choirat, Grégoire Colin, Vincent Rottiers, Florence Loiret Caille, Maxence Danet-Fauvel, Eden Ducourant, Pascal Houdus, Michaël Vander-Meiren, Stacy Grewis Belotti, Emmanuelle Bouaziz and Bérénice Ouédraogo as major characters. Minor characters include Marie Mallia, Léo Luchier, Arthur Seth and Aurélie Boquien alongside other cast members.
Women at War Plot/Synopsis
Set in 1914, the show follows four women who are part of the first world war and help in fighting the German forces. They are all well-versed in different attributes of the war and help their country in the way they know best. Netflix’s description of the series reads, “France 1914. As the German troops advance and men leave for the frontlines, four women must grapple with the devastating consequences of war at home.”
The trailer starts off by showing the impact the war has taken and the rallying cry required from the citizens in order to defeat this foreign force. The four characters of the story include Marguerite, Caroline, Agnès and Suzanne. All of them have to grapple with their life as the war comes closer to home. While it is centred around war, it is really an exploration of what it was like to be a woman in France at the turn of that century whether you worked at a church or were a prostitute.
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Marguerite is suspected of being a spy in her country while Caroline is still coming to terms with the fact that her husband has left for war and she has to handle his car factory. This comes at a time when most people didn’t expect women to lead any professional space let alone a factory of this size. Agnès is the mother superior at a church that has to be converted into a military hospital now, tending to the dying and wounded. While Suzanne is fleeing from Switzerland after an abortion goes wrong and arrives at the doorstep of a church-converted military hospital.
This series aims to encompass the female experience by highlighting relevant feminist issues and also telling diverse stories of women with desires and wavering faith. Additionally, by telling the story of the war from perspectives generally looked over, the show has an opportunity to explore a new angle of the war. There are many questions raised from the trailer like why does Marguerite have annotated maps of France if she is not a spy? Does Agnès come to terms with all the patients in her hospital? Will Suzanne ever be found out in the church? Can Caroline convince the workers to continue working at the factory under her leadership?
Women at War Trailer and Release Date
Women at War will be streaming on Netflix from January 19, 2023. Whose story are you most excited to follow? Let us know in the comments below.
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Wonderful. The direction was problematic in that it took me a long while to figure out who was who and what the stories were.. Also there was one Black person, a woman, in the movie and she had less than two lines. Could have done better to be more inclusive. I would have liked to know her story too.I was thrilled to watch this short series. I would have liked to have more chapters.
Yes lets rewrite history to accommodate high strung uneducated Americans. Good idea.