A year out from a presidential election that could see France elect a far-right nationalist leader, the country's filmmakers are releasing a series of movies set amid the fascism of World War II.
The most overtly political of a trio of major domestic productions premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, "Notre Salut" ("A Man Of His Time"), winning rave reviews for its portrayal of an ambitious local official following France's defeat by the Nazis in 1940.
Called a "masterpiece" by left-wing Libération newspaper and widely praised by critics, French director Emmanuel Marre's film skewers the moral failings and casual cruelty of people who decided to work with France's war-time collaborationist government in Vichy.
"Never again!" Marre told the audience to cheers at the premiere on Wednesday. "I'll say it another time: never again."
The film, based on letters by Marre's great-grandfather, invites viewers to look at "how political movements can play on our inner neuroses and make us tip over … by using our failures and resentments," he told AFP.
