This is the soap opera event that everyone is talking about. This September 19, TF1 is broadcasting its new series Les Combattantes to discover from 9:10 p.m. Composed of 8 episodes of 52 minutes each, the fiction was directed by Alexandre Laurent, written by Camille Treiner and Cécile Lorne, the latter being at the origin of this fiction.
The story behind Les Combattantes? That of four women with an exceptional destiny during the First World War. In a small village located in the east of France, a few kilometers from the German border, each of them finds themselves mobilized in the war effort. Throughout their journey, they engage in their own way, risking their lives…
Among the stars in the cast of this series, viewers will find actress Audrey Fleurot in the role of Marguerite De Lancaster, a mysterious prostitute hired into a brothel to get closer to the front. As well as the actresses Julie de Bona, embodying Mother Agnès who takes in the wounded in her convent, and Camille Lou, in the skin of Suzanne Faure, a nurse on the run who finds refuge with the Mother Superior. Three heroines joined by Sofia Essaïdi, the latter playing Caroline Dewitt, a wife who takes over the family business while her husband is called to fight at the front.
Unlike Sofia Essaïdi, the three stars find themselves in this new series, three years after the success of the Bazar de la Charité. Should we see a connection between these two period fictions? According to the Télé-Loisirs website, there are common points since Alexandre Laurent also produced the series inspired by the great fire of the 19th century. Director and producer Iris Baucher asked TF1 to create their second historical series, which is set in the early 20th century.
For Armand de Fraguier, a serial buff in his spare time (Armand Simply on YouTube), the comparison seems inevitable between the two historical fictions. “Not sure it was a good idea to use the same cast as the Charity Bazaar, it encourages even more comparison, and it’s clearly not in favor of the Fighters”, he explains for Planet , relying on the same visual aesthetic and the same typography for the title.
If the actresses have (more or less) different roles in the Bazaar of Charity, they were delighted to meet for this new shoot even if some do not all share scenes together. “I was very happy to find them again. Camille Lou was a real revelation to me on the set of the Bazaar of Charity. Since then, I have followed her career closely and we give each other regular updates. I was delighted to see his evolution on the set”, rejoiced Julie de Bona for TF1 Pro. As also affirmed by the famous singer and actress who played alongside him. “I felt like I never left them” before adding about his partner Julie de Bona. “We have the same sensitivity and I was delighted to find it”.
Only disappointment for Julie de Bona. “To my great regret, like on the Bazaar, we don’t really share a stage with Audrey Fleurot”. A feeling also shared by the flagship heroine of HPI and Un Village français. “I practically did not meet the other main actresses except for a few brief passages, because our heroines have different backgrounds and universes. Me, I was outdoors a lot in the forest”, she assures to our colleagues.
Among the other stars of fiction, we find on screen Laurent Gerra (in the role of Abbé Vautrin), Tom Leeb (Joseph Duvernet), but also Tchky Karyo (General Duvernet) or Grégoire Colin (the handsome -brother of Caroline Dewitt) and Sandrine Bonnaire (Caroline Dewitt’s mother-in-law). Without forgetting the revelations Maxence Danet-Fauvel (Colin de Renier) and Mikael Mittelstadt (Gustave).
The series Les Combattantes mobilized many means to draw up this historical fresco and reproduce the decorations of the war. Shooting in spring 2021, the fiction was made in three regions in France: from the Grand-Est region (for the exterior scenes), to Ile-de-France (for the interiors and the plane scenes in the studio and outside) and in Hauts-de-France (for the decor of the convent).
As detailed in the channel’s press release, this fiction brought together 150 roles and more than 3,000 extras, the creation of 1,380 costumes including 600 uniforms, 300 weapons used and up to 100 liters of fake blood used for the effects. specials. In a less bloodthirsty register, TF1’s flagship soap opera also mobilized several means of transport on set: 200 period vehicles, 130 horses for the fighters or even 8 period-built ambulances.
A rather convincing result for Armand de Fraguier by viewing the extracts. “It’s aesthetically very beautiful, TF1 knows how to do it at this level as usual for costumes, sets, lighting, framing”, assures the videographer to Planet, however highlighting a slight downside. “It’s much too licked both in the realization and in the costumes”. Between uniforms that are too clean or not soiled enough, “it’s more reconstruction than anything else”, believes this faithful of the small screen.
