''Weekend at Dunkirk'' () is a 1964 French-Italian

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International F ...

and starring

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

. It is based on the 1949

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

winning novel ''

Week-end at Zuydcoote ''Week-end at Zuydcoote'' (; published as ''Weekend at Dunkirk'' in the United States) is a 1949 novel by French author Robert Merle, published in the Collection Blanche by Éditions Gallimard. It won the 1949 Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigi ...

'' (French: ''Week-end à Zuydcoote'') by Robert Merle.

Plot

Set during the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

, the film follows Julien Maillat, a French Army sergeant who tries to join the British Army on the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's boat flotilla to Britain. No matter how hard he tries to make it, he and his French squad-mates and colleagues are hard-pressed to get away as the fight is getting harder and the Germans closer and closer.

Selected cast

Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

Julien Maillat * Catherine Spaak as Jeanne *

Jean-Pierre Marielle Jean-Pierre Marielle (12 April 1932 – 24 April 2019) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films in which he played very diverse roles, from a banal citizen (''Les Galettes de Pont-Aven''), to a World War II hero (''Les Milles ...

as a French military chaplain friend of Maillat * François Périer as Alexandre * Pierre Mondy as Dhéry *

Pierre Vernier Pierre Vernier (; 19 August 1580 at Ornans, Franche-Comté (at that time ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs, now part of France) – 14 September 1637, same location) was a mathematician and instrument inventor. He was the inventor and eponym o ...

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

Paul Préboist Paul Préboist (21 February 1927 – 4 March 1997) was a French actor. He appeared in more than hundred films, mostly in supporting roles, and is best known as a comic actor. Filmography Theater References External links *Paul Préboista ...

as a soldier * Ronald Howard as captain Robinson * Eric Sinclair : le capitaine Clark * Donald O'Brien as the British sergeant controlling the lines on the beach * Kenneth Haigh : John Atkins * Marie Dubois : Hélène, the French wife of Atkins * Nigel Stock as the British sergeant carrying rocking horse and burned during a German attack * Christian Barbier : Paul

Reception

The film was the ninth most popular movie at the French box office in 1964. According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $1,700,000 in rentals to break even and made $1,755,000, meaning it made a profit.

References

External links

*
''Weekend at Dunkirk''
at Le Film Guide * 1964 films 1960s French-language films 1960s war drama films Films directed by Henri Verneuil Films set in 1940 Films set in Dunkirk Dunkirk evacuation films Films set on beaches French war drama films French World War II films Western Front of World War II films Films based on French novels 1964 drama films 1960s French films Italian war drama films Italian World War II films {{war-drama-film-stub