Synopsis
After promising 1100 employees that they would protect their jobs, the managers of a factory decide to suddenly close up shop. Laurent takes the lead in a fight against this decision.
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Cast
- Vincent LindonLaurent Amédéo
- Mélanie RoverMélanie, CGT unionist
- Jacques BorderieMr. Borderie, plant manager
- David ReyAdministrative and financial director
- Olivier LemaireSIPI activist #1
- Isabelle RufinDirector of human resources
- Bruno BourtholSIPI activist #2
- Sébastien VamelleCGT activist #2
- Jean-Noël TroncMayor of Agen
- Valérie LamondUnions’ Lawyer
Recommendations
- 80
CineVue
The final moments veer too far towards the melodramatic, especially when the rest of the movie has exhibited a preference for the intellectual powers of argument, logic and reason, however the sense of desperation and accompanying symbolism is tragically potent. - 80
Screen Daily
Ripped from the headlines, keenly researched and carefully crafted, this fictional tale has near-universal resonance although some viewers may find it forbiddingly French in that talk, talk and more talk is as plentiful as are distinctive characters and punchy imagery. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
DP Eric Dumont captures the action as if he were shooting events as they unfold in real time. Along with the supporting nonpro cast and all the news footage, this makes At War feel much closer to documentary than fiction — and the movie itself less like a workplace drama than the chronicle of a soldier in the heat of battle. - 70
Variety
The chief value of the impassioned but slightly flavorless At War is that it gives Lindon another opportunity to wear the undersung virtue of ordinary, rough-hewn decency the way a superhero might wear a cape. - 67
The A.V. Club
Ultimately, At War isn’t able to offer much more than gradual escalation of intensity. Even before the war is over, it’s hard not to withdraw. - 63
Movie Nation
It’s a gripping and glum account of the ebb and flow of a strike in an era when all the power lies with management, and too much of the media sympathy lies with ownership — stockholders. - 60
The New York Times
To this viewer, it is a spectacular whiff. - 50
IndieWire
Though salvaged in parts by Lindon’s impassioned performance and a few perceptive asides that hint at a better version of the events, At War is mostly a redundant portrait of working-class struggles that does more to belittle the efforts of its subjects than position them in galvanizing terms.
