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Battle of the Brave

Battle of the Brave (Nouvelle-France)

Movie · 2004 · 15 people

Released in French as Nouvelle-France (“New France”), Battle of the Brave came out in 2004 as a historical romance and drama. A co-production between France, the United Kingdom and Canada, it cost about CA$30 million, making it Quebec’s costliest film to that date. English and French versions were shot at once. It was directed by Jean Beaudin, whose earlier work includes Le Matou, from a script by Pierre Billon and Gilles Carle. In Turkey it opened in November 2006 as Umutlar Ülkesi.

Set in 18th-century Quebec in the first years of British military occupation, the story is very loosely inspired by the “la Corriveau” affair of 1763. Le Gardeur has turned his back on bourgeois life to live in the forest among Native Americans; learning that his father is gravely ill, he returns to say goodbye but arrives too late. In town he meets the healer Marie-Loup and falls in love. Yet Père Blondeau’s relentless criticism of the young woman, rooted in his own feelings for her, puts the couple’s lives in danger.

The cast is led by Noémie Godin-Vigneau, David La Haye, Juliette Gosselin and Sébastien Huberdeau, with Gérard Depardieu, Irène Jacob, Vincent Pérez, Tim Roth, Jason Isaacs and Colm Meaney adding international names.

DirectorJean Beaudin

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Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Irène Jacob Irène Jacob Film actor · 60 years old Vincent Perez Vincent Perez Film actor · 62 years old Alex Bisping Bianca Gervais Colm Meaney David La Haye Gérard Depardieu Jason Isaacs Juliette Gosselin Noémie Godin-Vigneau Philippe Dormoy Pierre Lebeau Sébastien Huberdeau Tim Roth Paul Savoie

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Quebec in the first years of British military occupation is fertile ground for portraying a society caught between French and British worlds, town and forest, bourgeois life and the Native Americans. Le Gardeur's choice to leave bourgeois life for the forest opens an interesting door onto the fluidity of identity in a colonial society. A healer endangered by a priest's relentless criticism also reflects how the period viewed women and traditional knowledge. Because the film draws only very loosely on the real la Corriveau affair of 1763, however, it is best read as a period-costume love story rather than a history.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Being Quebec's most expensive film to that date, with English and French versions shot at the same time, shows a production designed from the outset for the international market. The same ambition shows in the well-known names added to the cast, but in my view that choice costs the storytelling its balance. Weight is split between the love story carried by the local leads and the supporting roles handed to international stars, and the film wavers between a grand historical fresco and an inward-looking melodrama. Pierre Billon and Gilles Carle's script sets up a strong conflict, but stretched across a long narrative it loses tension in places.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A love story in a historical setting looks family-friendly at first glance. But the plot involves a priest's obsession with a young woman and a hostility that puts the couple's lives at risk, so the subject is heavy. It is not for young children. It suits teenagers and adults who enjoy period films and romantic drama.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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