Le Silence de la Mer (2004 film)

Le Silence de la mer (lit. 'The silence of the sea') is a 2004 French-Belgian TV drama film directed by Pierre Boutron, based on the 1942 book of the same name by Jean Bruller (published clandestinely under the pen name "Vercors"), and starring Thomas Jouannet, Julie Delarme and Michel Galabru. The story takes place in 1941 during World War II, and concerns the relationship of a Frenchman and his granddaughter with a German captain, who occupies their house during the German occupation of France.

Plot
France, 1941. During the Nazi Occupation of France, Werner von Ebrennac, a German Wehrmacht captain requests the house of a man and his granddaughter, Jeanne Larosière, a young piano teacher, to lodge with them. The officer, passionate about French culture, speaks perfect French and is also a classical pianist and composer. Every evening he shares his ideals and his passion for France with his hosts, who oppose him with a fierce and unshakable silence, the only way for them to mark their hostility to the German occupation. Jeanne tries to ignore Werner, but the German officer soon infatuates her.

Cast

 * Thomas Jouannet as Captain Werner von Ebrennac
 * Julie Delarme as Jeanne Larosière
 * Michel Galabru as André Larosière
 * Marie Bunel as Marie
 * Timothée Ferrand as Pierre
 * Jean-Baptiste Puech as Pascal
 * Jörg Schnass as le premier officier
 * Jörn Cambreleng as le second officier
 * Franck Beckmann as l'ordonnance du capitaine Werner Von Ebrennac
 * Alexander Ashkenazy as François
 * Hélène Vauquois as la mère de François
 * Lucie Barret as Solange
 * Jean Philippe Mesmain as le père de Solange
 * Claude Andrzejewski as Louis

Awards

 * 2004 Saint-Tropez Fiction TV Festival: Best TV Film, Best Actress (Julie Delarme) and Best Music