Overview
- The first film, La Bataille de Gaulle: L'Âge de fer, was shown at Cannes on Wednesday and completes a diptych that will open in French cinemas on 3 June and 3 July.
- Director Antonin Baudry, a former diplomat, frames the project as a non‑hagiographic, present‑tense study of De Gaulle focused on solitude and struggle rather than a grand monument.
- Simon Abkarian leads a high‑profile ensemble including Benoît Magimel, Niels Schneider, Mathieu Kassovitz and Anamaria Vartolomei in a roughly five‑hour two‑film epic.
- Pathé backs the production with a reported budget near €70 million, making it one of the largest recent investments in French cinema and a major industry bet.
- Press at Cannes noted the film’s deliberate mix of war, thriller and psychological drama as audacious and potentially divisive, and the premiere’s red carpet briefly drew attention when Kevin Spacey appeared, creating unease among attendees.