De Gaulle: Résistance

"Some wars are won by armies. Others by those who refuse to surrender."

2026 2h 40m FR

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7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 232

HistoryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

June, 1940. France collapses and signs the armistice. In the midst of the chaos, one man refuses to give up. Alone against the odds, this unknown general flees to London to save what remains of freedom.

“Some wars are won by armies. Others by those who refuse to surrender.”

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Cast

Simon Abkarian
Charles de Gaulle
Simon Russell Beale
Winston Churchill
Florian Lesieur
Fernand
Benoît Magimel
Koenig
Mathieu Kassovitz
Darlan
Loïc Corbery
Pleven
Anamaria Vartolomei
Livia
Niels Schneider
Général Leclerc

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Antonin Baudry
Writers: Antonin Baudry, Pierre-Emmanuel Chatiliez, Bérénice Vila
Languages: English, French
Countries: France, Belgium, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Belgium, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "La Bataille de Gaulle (Collection)" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Antonin Baudry, shot by Pierre Cottereau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Volker Bertelmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Antonin Baudry directs. Pierre Cottereau behind the camera. Volker Bertelmann scores. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Belgium, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
5International production across 3 countries: France, Belgium, United States of America.
6Part of the "La Bataille de Gaulle (Collection)" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Directed by Antonin Baudry, shot by Pierre Cottereau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Volker Bertelmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Simon Abkarian and Simon Russell Beale and Florian Lesieur carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Some wars are won by armies. Others by those who refuse to surrender.".
11IMDB entry: tt28553375 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Pierre Cottereau
Original score: Volker Bertelmann
Production design: Benoît Barouh
Costume design: Laurence Chalou
Makeup / hair: Mélodie Ras
Runtime: 160 min · 2h 40m
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $18,752,948
Return: 75% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: De Gaulle: Résistance (2026)

Part of

La Bataille de Gaulle (Collection)

A two-part biopic following French army officer Charles De Gaulle's life and political commitment between 1940 and 1945, and trace his development towards a political career.

Also by

Antonin Baudry

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-09-03
★ 7/10
Though it does leave it until the end, Antonin Baudry does put up a disclaimer acknowledging that there's a fair degree of cinematic licence been taken with this depiction of the rise of Charles de Gaulle from upstart provincial soldier to leader of the Free French during the Nazi occupation of his country. We start in 1940 with France effectively partitioned. The Vichy - under the government of Marshal Petain is in the South and it is trying keep what it can of it's territory from their invaders - at just about any price. De Gaulle (Simon Abkarian) has escaped to London and views them all as capitulators unworthy to claim any rights to the leadership of the French people, but his views have little traction at home or abroad. Meantime, British Prime Minister Churchill (Sir Simon Russell Beale) needs to stop the substantial French fleet from falling into enemy hands - but Admiral Darlan (Mathieu Kasovitz) seems unlikely to just hand it over to the British who are now the only power left in Europe resisting the Führer and his henchmen. Might de Gaulle be a weapon Churchill can employ? He's a formidable speaker after all. Well, he concludes that he hasn't actually got very much to lose so he recognises him as leader of his nation and leaves him to galvanise what he can from his sceptical compatriots amidst fury from Petain and Darlan. What now ensues illustrates how by sheer force of personality this man tried to secure the support of the colonies in Africa like Chad and Cameroon; to secure access to the port of Dakar for the Americans - who may, or may not, be considering entering the war and, of course, fighting a fairly constant rearguard action against those who would scheme to depose him - especially when things go wrong (and they do!). Simultaneously, back in Paris there is a young provacteur called Fernand (Florian Lesieur) who is trying to raise some sort of fighting spirit amongst his fellow citizens, but is facing a sea of indifference from a population that hasn't, thus far, really seen any edge to the presence of the Swastika and who are inclined to just keep their heads down. Can he manage to kickstart some sort of public opposition to not just their visitors but also to the Vichy administration that left them all in the lurch in the first place? Abkarian is on very convincing form as the bloody-minded and determined soldier who proves adaptable and obnoxious in equal measure and the scenes he has with Sir Simon's equally rumbunctious and sartorially adventurous Churchill speculate, for sure, but give us an indication that allies they might have been but allied - well not necessarily! It also showcases the lesser-known but vital contribution of a modest French force in North Africa as Rommel advanced on Tobruk and that sequence shows off some of this film's solid production standards and Benoît Magimel's depiction of battle-hardened General Koenig fits in well with this film's overall emphasis on the characterisation of the individuals concerned as the war begins to look even more ominous for a free European continent. If you watched Edward Berger's "All Quiet on the Western Front" (2022) then you might appreciate that many of these familiar events are being told from a perspective we rarely see and that when considered in that context, this gives us some idea of just how tough it was and though the enemy of my enemy might be my friend, agreement is neither guaranteed nor even always wanted when interests clash. Interestingly, this rather suggests a relationship between Churchill and US President Roosevelt that I doubt either would be especially proud of, or acknowledging of, and it tees things up for a second part that must see both having to deal with this man as an equal in a part two that must see his quest for political power take shape.

Production companies