Music Box Films has officially announced that it will release on Blu-ray Xavier Beauvois' film The Guardians (2017), starring Nathalie Baye, Laura Smet, Iris Bry, Cyril Descours, and Gilbert Bonneau. The release will be available for purchase on August 28.
Synopsis: The Guardians is the story of the Paridier family and their farm in the French countryside, where life revolves around everyday chores that service the farm's seasonal cycle of planting and harvesting. With the breakout of World War I in 1915, the women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of family matriarch Hortense (Nathalie Baye), must grapple with the workload while the men, including Hortense's two sons, are at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, the hard-scrabble teenage orphan Francine (Iris Bry), to help her daughter, Solange (Laura Smet, Baye's real-life daughter). New tools and technology allow the women to triumph over the land and newfound independence is acquired, yet emotions are stirred, especially when the men return on short leaves. Regardless, it is the Paridier women who are the "guardians" of their land and its traditions.
Adapted from Ernest Pérochon's 1924 novel, Beauvois's elegant work, luxuriously shot in widescreen by his go-to cinematographer Caroline Champetier, revels in the mysteries and beauties of the French countryside, here unravaged by the turmoil of war. Filling The Guardians with painterly images bathed in luminous, natural light, Beauvois nevertheless maintains his focus on the intricate drama that plays out against the upheaval of the Great War.
Special Features:
Q&As with director Xavier Beauvois, cinematographer Caroline Champetier, and actor Nicolas Giraud
Interview with Champetier
Music and casting featurettes
Alternate ending
Collector's booklet featuring an interview with Beauvois and a critical essay