De Gaulle is a 2020 historical film from France directed by Gabriel Le Bomin.
It is a biopic of, that's right, Charles de Gaulle — sort of. Rather than assess the man's long career in a single movie, the film concentrates on the busiest three weeks of De Gaulle's life, from late May to mid-June 1940 in the early phase of World War II. As the film opens, De Gaulle (Lambert Wilson) has had tactical success at the Battle of Abbeville
and calls headquarters to ask for support, only to be told that the whole French army is retreating to the Somme River in hopes of stopping the German advance.
The military situation rapidly deteriorates in early June. As the French government evacuates Paris, De Gaulle calls for continued resistance from the French Empire even if metropolitan France is conquered, but defeatists led by Marshal Pétain gain the upper hand. De Gaulle contemplates fleeing to the United Kingdom to rally any French who care to continue the struggle, but he has personal problems to consider, namely the safety of his wife Yvonne and their 12-year-old daughter Anne, who has Down's syndrome.
De Gaulle provides examples of:
- As You Know: When discussing Charles going back to London for a last-ditch appeal to Churchill, Yvonne feels the need to not only name Charles's essay ("The Blade of the Sword") but tell him that it "evokes Alexander's 'hope', Caesar's 'fortune', Napoleon's 'star'", and that Charles said "events find great men to dominate, change the course of history."
- Briefcase Full of Money: As soon as De Gaulle says that he's going to escape to England, Premier Reynaud, who has just been deposed, opens up a briefcase with 100,000 francs in it — secret government funds — and gives it to De Gaulle.
- Burn Baby Burn: De Gaulle sees just how badly things are going upon his return, when he enters a government building and sees a pile of documents burning in the courtyard. He comes into Premier Reynaud's office and finds the head of the French government throwing more documents into his own fire.
- Les Collaborateurs: The first ones, as the defeatists gain power and eventually take over. Petain is grasping for power for himself. Paul Baudoin, the new Foreign Minister, is even worse, speaking openly of becoming partners with Germany.
- Distant Prologue: The opening scene is set in April 1940 and shows the De Gaulle family, including the fact that Charles and Yvonne have a daughter with special needs. Then the film skips forward over a month to May 28 and the main story.
- Dream Sequence: German soldiers overrun the house where the De Gaulle family is staying. They seem to be about to rape Yvonne's daughter when she pulls a gun and fires. The scene cuts to her in bed, revealing it to be a nightmare.
- Establishing Character Moment: De Gaulle is shown at Abbeville on May 28, excited about his tactical success, and wanting support so that the advance can be continued. He then calls headquarters and is told to retreat with the rest of the army, prompting a rant in which he complains about the high command "fighting the last war" and having a mindset of passive defense.
- Ethereal White Dress: An odd moment has Anne, riding in a car with her mother, spotting a woman in a white wedding dress walking along the side of the road along with other, more bedraggled refugees.
- Flashback: Multiple flashbacks showing tender moments between Charles, Yvonne, and Anne. In Real Life De Gaulle was said to be considerably more overtly affectionate with his special needs daughter than he was with his other children.
- Foreshadowing: An officer in the propaganda department hears De Gaulle talk of attack and victory. Thinking that such a message is better than the defeatism already coming from the high command, the propaganda guy gets De Gaulle to record a radio message. This foreshadows the climax in which De Gaulle, in London, gives his famous "Appeal of 18 June" radio speech in which he calls for all Frenchmen who wish to continue the struggle to rally to him.
- Glasses Pull: Winston Churchill is struggling with his schoolboy French as he has a tense meeting with De Gaulle in London. De Gaulle asks for more support and especially British air support to help the French. That makes Churchill pull off his glasses and Switch to English as he says "Not a chance!" Churchill explains that with the front in northern France crumbling, the British are holding back their fighter squadrons to defend their own island against a possible German invasion.
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: De Gaulle comes into Reynaud's office and is startled to learn that the French government is evacuating Paris and will leave the city undefended. When De Gaulle mentions Petain and the other defeatists Reynaud gets agitated and says "I am under no one's influence!" That is immediately followed by Helene, Reynaud's defeatist mistress, entering the office and urging a surrender.
- Mononymous Biopic Title: De Gaulle
- Rousing Speech: The most famous one in French history, the Appeal of 18 June, given by De Gaulle on the BBC right before a pop singer came on the air. Little heard at the time but since immortalized, and the climax of the movie.De Gaulle: For France is not alone! She is not alone!
- Skinny Dipping: When German soldiers do it right in front of Yvonne and Anne, it's a mark of their total domination of France.
- Voiceover Letter: There are multiple voiceover letters between Charles and Yvonne as they exchange messages over where to go and how to keep the family safe.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: De Gaulle of course became President of France, while "little Anne" died of pneumonia in 1948 and her parents founded an institute for mentally handicapped girls.
