The Vanishing Corporal (The Elusive Corporal / Le caporal épinglé)

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY JACQUES PERRET

Invading France, the German army

has caused the fall of the French army's defense system.

The overwhelming superiority of the German air force

weighs heavily on the outcome of the battle.

Panic seizes civilians

fleeing across the roads.

This is Radio Berlin .

June 22nd, 1940.

The Third Reich's victory is unquestionable.

The Führer accepted the armistice requested by the French General Staff.

It was in Rethondes, in the wagon

where the Armistice of World War I was signed,

that the plenipotentiaries, German and French,

met with one another.

- Halt! - Wohin gehst du? Where are you going?

I am going back home.

You are crazy. Go on, go back to camp!

-It's the armistice. -Yes, armistice, very good.

My friend, go back to camp!

The war is over, we are no longer angry.

Go back to camp!

But, my cows? What will happen to them?

What about my clerk who broke his leg? And my wife who's all alone?

-Come on, go back to camp! -My cows…

But it's the armistice, guys!

What about my cows? Wow.

Come on, men!

Move!

Come on!

Onward!

Come on!

WE WILL WIN AS WE ARE STRONGER

Come on, move it!

Nice weather for the season!

You're kidding right?

Do you know where I can find the corporal?

-What corporal? -There is only one.

And he's probably on vacation in this spa town.

Stop moving, you'll mess it all up!

Shit! That's it, I was sure!

Sleeping rough is simplest! Everyone knows that!

Get near a pile of shit, and you might die face flat in it!

-Ballochet! -Be careful!

Honor the defeated, don't dishonor the French army.

Ballochet! Good old Ballochet!

Oh! Stone the crows. Not another one.

You're all alone? And the friends of the free Corps?

Finished, the free Corps. Our cause is lost.

At least we're alive! Could be a beautiful death today though…

That's for later.

For some time now,

honor and glory go more to the survivors than the dead.

You know everything. When are they letting us go?

Let's say I was Hitler.

Seems unlikely though. We don't have the same training.

If I had 2 million French prisoners, I wouldn't let them go.

Not one.

Well, my old mate.

It rained hard.

It can't keep coming.

My God…

Do you know what one cook told me?

They're going to free Brittany, and make it independent.

-Are you Breton? -My great-grandmother was.

The cook was teasing. Electricians will be the first to leave.

Are you an electrician? You don't look like one.

We are farmers. And I have a cow that's about to calve.

He's a miller, an orphan, a father of 4 children.

-Are you a miller? -No, nor an orphan.

Don't take the mickey.

Here lad, this is the truth. The last bottle, the only one, the real one.

A ball was thrown by the King of England,

Roosevelt said this to Hitler:

"My little Adolf…"

"If you don't release all the French prisoners this instant,

I'll wage war against you."

Are they close?

Of course, my boy!

Obviously, mate.

Ballochet clarified the question.

Grown-ups don't care about us.

They talk over champagne, while we rot in this hole.

What can we do, Corporal?

It always has been this way and always will be.

You just have to wait and…

Wait for what? From whom? From where?

-I don't know, but… -No, Dad, believe me.

It's up to us to sort things out ourselves.

Chinese nights, cuddly nights Nights of love

Drunken nights Of tenderness

Where we think we are dreaming Until daybreak!

Chinese nights, cuddly nights Nights of love

In my opinion, this is a silly move.

We're going to get pulled in the ass!

As in the Free Corps, when we patrolled.

Let's talk about it. Him and strawberries.

-We nearly stayed there! -What delicious strawberries, Papa!

The best you'll ever have. The taste of friendship.

Those years of blood and mud…

Let's wait until next season, Corporal.

We'll go picking on rue Lepic. It's better there.

You believe it? That Hitler'll hold us.

-What do you know? -Ballochet said so.

It's been a long time.

I'm out of here, barbed wire depresses me.

And me, the captain's gloves.

Green knit gloves.

If I wore these gloves to read gas meters…

The housewives would laugh at me.

More hot air from our gas worker.

I'm sick of the pair of you. Change your tune!

You don't have to come with us!

What the hell would I do without you?

So, are we going?

Don't be foolish! The armistice has been signed!

Sorry, but I never signed anything!

Corporal! Listen, will you!

There, I see it. We can jump the wall.

There's even a mound of sand.

Far from people, far from noise

Sentries.

This is bullshit I'm telling you, don't go!

I lost my glasses.

-Let's go! -What about Ballochet?

Hey, Ballochet! Hurry up!

I can't find my glasses!

Corporal, over there!

Come on, Corporal, smile!

I'll regret this forever.

If you had helped him, he'd have been caught, like us.

He'd be in a cage too.

However, in my haste to get away, I betrayed Ballochet.

Listen, Corporal…

I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you.

But Ballochet…

He brought it on himself.

His glasses…

He lost them on purpose.

How can you spout such nonsense?

Ballochet, a coward? You're crazy!

You don't know the first thing about Ballochet!

-I'm so stupid. -That's for sure!

This is Radio Berlin.

In Paris, the Reichswehr marches through victoriously.

Left! Three, four…

Heidi, heido, heida

Heidi, heido, heida

Heidi, heido, heida

Heidi, heido, heida

Heidi, heido, heida

Heidi, heido…

Great voices, right?

They can even hold a tune, makes me sick.

If only they could make us laugh as much as they piss us off…

Well, they don't make me laugh or piss me off.

A little faster!

Forward, come on!

Move it! Come on!

Keep it tidy now! No shoving!

Ballochet, hurry up!

Don't push!

Say, can I have that place?

-Why? -These are my friends!

If you like…

Is that one free?

If you want. Don't shove my stuff though.

After three days on the train, the shower did me a lot of good.

It was a bit too hot. I like an ice cold one.

Are you nuts?

I'm an athlete. Boxing, wrestling, pole vaulting.

And does it pay?

I am an amateur athlete.

My main work is in insurance.

I skipped the shower.

The guy had his back turned and I pretended to towel down.

I didn't have one wet hair. I'm not some crazy bumpkin!

In sports you need to keep clean, my man.

Have a feel. Here.

Huh?

What the hell did I do with my cheese grater?

Chinese nights, cuddly nights…

You sing too!

I'm out of practice, but I have a good voice.

I've got good feet. I'm telling you, kids…

I have great feet.

In my job, feet are everything.

But I do wash them three times a day, otherwise they swell.

Are you into sports too?

No, I'm a waiter.

Do you know Bertrandbehind the Opéra Comique?

-No. -That's where I work.

Does it pay well?

It depends on the season.

I don't know how they manage without me. I'm indispensable.

On my Tuesday break, some clients don't come.

They'll only let me serve them.

"Lean to the left, my Clacquesin!" "Lean to the left, my Suze!"

"Lean to the left"?

They call me "Lean to the left."