Suite Française (2014), directed by Saul Dibb

The complexities of human relationships in wartime are no different to those in peace, but they are perhaps more intense. Collaboration can be borne of a bid for survival or a relief from loneliness, or even of true love. Based on the posthumous best selling novel of Irene Nemirovsky, Suite Francaise is an intensely romantic, yet brutal illustration of small town life in German-occupied France during WWII. The ruling class in Bussy, just outside Paris, have more in common with their German overlords then their own poor tenants, but this does them little good in the long run. Cowed by her mother-in-law, gentle Lucille does not greatly miss her soldier husband, whom she barely knows. She finds a kindred spirit in Bruno, the German officer billeted on them and must negotiate a perilous path between fellow villagers and the occupying force, finding courage and strength on the journey. Michelle Williams, Matthias Schonaerts and Kristin Scott-Thomas lead a strong supporting cast of mostly British actors. Williams employs a spot on English accent (as does Aussie Margot Robbie), which is a bit odd, given the film is set in France. With villains and heroes on both sides, there is no black and white in this story of power and its abuse and how war allows this to flourish.