See You Up There
Directed by Albert Dupontel
- drama
- crime
- war
The story
In November 1918, a few days before the Armistice, when Lieutenant Pradelle orders a senseless attack, he causes a useless disaster; but his outrageous act also binds the lives of two soldiers who have nothing more in common than the battlefield: Édouard saves Albert, although at a high cost. They become companions in misfortune who will attempt to survive in a changing world. Pradelle, in his own way, does the same.
What it’s like
Ornate, theatrical colour against grey postwar Paris: the film leans into gilded interiors, painted backdrops, and grotesque, stylised faces, with sharp hard light in the sets and a dusty, cluttered grey in the streets. Camera moves are sweeping and deliberately staged, often framing characters in symmetrical compositions that feel like a stage production or a comic-strip panel brought to life. The sound design mixes warbling period music with abrupt, jarring bursts of noise, and the trench sequences hit hard with sudden, muffled chaos. Vibe: darkly comic, baroque, bittersweet, a little absurd. It suits a rainy evening when you want something visually rich and unpredictable rather than gentle. Pacing is brisk and tonal shifts are abrupt, moving between slapstick grotesquerie and sudden tenderness. Violence is present and sometimes graphic, including war wounds and a brutal opening attack; there is also crime and swindling, with brief sexual content and dark humour. The emotional register sits between tragedy and caper, following two damaged men who form an unlikely bond while a corrupt figure scrambles for advantage. For viewers who enjoy stylised, mordant period films with a sense of playful menace.
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