Antonin Baudry recreates the early-WWII struggles of the legendary French premier, in the first half of a classically colossal epic.

In June 1940, France is rapidly falling to Nazi Germany, and a middle-aged general finds himself at the forefront of its resisting citizens – but only from exile in London.

From a distance, and without proper troops or consistent support, he must marshal them into an organised force capable of making an impact, and showing the world the war is not lost. Director and former diplomat Antonin Baudry (The Wolf’s Call) crafts an absorbingly huge drama from a familiar story, dovetailing it with a less known narrative -the early assassination of a Vichy admiral in Algiers- which adds to the scale and tension. Simon Russell Beale adds wit and gravitas as the general’s ally/sparring partner Churchill