Calm at Sea

Calm at Sea is a 2011 German / French drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The film depicts the events leading to the 1941 execution of a group of French communists, including the 17-year-old Guy Môquet, as retaliation for the assassination of a German officer by the French resistance. Cast as Guy Môquet Marc Barbé as Jean-Pierre Timbaud Ulrich Matthes as Ernst Jünger as Lucien Touya Sébastien Accart as Bernard Lecornu as Claude Lalet Jacob Matschenz as Soldat Otto Reception The sea in the morning was mostly positively received. Jörg Schöning sums it up in Der Spiegel: “Schlöndorff's film, which is not particularly interested in the more recent questions of humanity, thankfully concentrates on the concrete. The sea in the morning is the stroke of luck of a documentary game: the people, their actions and words are historically documented, the consequences of their actions are highly dramatic - and still trigger considerable emotions today.” Filmgazette editor Wolfgang Nierlins judged: "Schlöndorff's film shows the fateful course of events, relentlessly aggravated by human arbitrariness and blind coincidence as a tragic event." He understands The Sea in the Morning as “a differentiated plea for humanity” and awards 8 out of 10 possible stars.