X
  • 2018
  • R
  • Music Box Films
  • 2 h 18 m
  • 2018
  • R
  • Music Box Films
  • 2 h 18 m

Summary An affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of Hortense, the family's matriarch (Nathalie Baye), must grapple with the workload while the men, including two sons, are off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, th...

Directed By: Xavier Beauvois

Written By: Frédérique Moreau, Ernest Pérochon, Marie-Julie Maille, Xavier Beauvois

  • 2018
  • R
  • Music Box Films
  • 2 h 18 m
  • 2018
  • R
  • Music Box Films
  • 2 h 18 m

The Guardians

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 15 Critic Reviews
must-see
81
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 15 User Ratings
5.7
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary An affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of Hortense, the family's matriarch (Nathalie Baye), must grapple with the workload while the men, including two sons, are off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, th...

Directed By: Xavier Beauvois

Written By: Frédérique Moreau, Ernest Pérochon, Marie-Julie Maille, Xavier Beauvois

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 15 Critic Reviews
81
87% Positive
13 Reviews
13% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 15 Critic Reviews
81
87% Positive
13 Reviews
13% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
May 16, 2018
The performances are extraordinary, as they often are in Beauvois’ films, with Baye a study in quiet suffering and Bry wonderfully enigmatic — seemingly simple, but hinting at a soul capable of expansion and adaptation.
By Mick LaSalle FULL REVIEW
90
May 9, 2018
The Guardians is an intimate French epic, elegantly made and quietly emotional, a family story filled with characters whose lives we sink into, feeling the hope, the sadness, the sorrow and the joy right along with those on the screen.
By Kenneth Turan FULL REVIEW
80
Aug 15, 2018
The beauty and the pathos of the film are vivid in every frame.
By Peter Bradshaw FULL REVIEW
80
May 3, 2018
Meditative in its pacing, painterly in composition, quietly devastating in its low-key drama, the latest film from Xavier Beauvois shares some of the slow-burning potency of his acclaimed study of religious faith, Of Gods And Men.
By Wendy Ide FULL REVIEW
80
May 3, 2018
The Guardians is a historical drama that doesn’t lose itself in decorative period detail, a beautifully photographed chronicle of rural existence that refrains from picturesque sentimentality and grinding misery, the usual modes for this kind of film.
By A.O. Scott FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 30, 2018
The film captures the pictorial beauty of old-fashioned farm life, but director Xavier Beauvois is careful not to romanticize hard labor for its own sake.
By Keith Watson FULL REVIEW
58
May 1, 2018
What starts out as a testament to female fortitude, reminding us that sacrifices were also made on the home front, gradually turns into high-toned soap opera.
By Mike D'Angelo FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 15 User Ratings
5.7
60% Positive
9 Ratings
13% Mixed
2 Ratings
27% Negative
4 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 15 User Ratings
5.7
60% Positive
9 Ratings
13% Mixed
2 Ratings
27% Negative
4 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Les Films du Worso, Pathé, France 3 Cinéma, Versus Production, Rita Productions, Orange Studio, KNM, Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), Canal+, Ciné+, France Télévisions, Cofinova 13, Soficinéma 13, Indéfilms 5, Cinéfeel 3, Eurimages, Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral Belge, Cinéforom, Loterie Suisse Romande, Mission du Centenaire de la Première Guerre Mondiale, Caisse d'Epargne Ile-de-France, Inver Tax Shelter
Release Date May 4, 2018
Duration 2 h 18 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline France 1915. Men on the battlefield. Women on the homefront.
Website https://en.worso.com/les-gardiennes
View All Details

Awards

César Awards, France
• 4 Nominations
Lumiere Awards, France
• 2 Nominations
London Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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