The Stopover (French: Voir du pays) is a 2016 French film directed by Delphine and Muriel Coulin. It explores the tensions among a group of French soldiers returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, focusing on the experiences of three young women. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section where the sisters won the award for Best Screenplay.[2][3]

The Stopover
Film poster
Directed byDelphine Coulin
Muriel Coulin
Screenplay byDelphine Coulin
Muriel Coulin
Based onVoir du pays
by Delphine Coulin
Produced byDenis Freyd
StarringSoko
Ariane Labed
CinematographyJean-Louis Vialard
Edited byLaurence Briaud
Distributed byDiaphana Films (France)
Release dates
  • 17 May 2016 (2016-05-17) (Cannes)
  • 7 September 2016 (2016-09-07) (France)
Running time
102 minutes
CountriesFrance
Greece
LanguageFrench
Budget$3.5 million
Box office$227.000[1]

Plot

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After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, a group of French soldiers are flown for a three-day stay at a luxurious beach hotel in Cyprus. The stay is not only for rest and relaxation, since the Army also uses the break to address the psychological effects of returning to France from a high-stress environment in which comrades have been wounded or killed. As well as enjoying themselves, the soldiers have to participate in group therapy sessions where individuals, sometimes painfully, are made to relive moments of danger and terror.

But the tension is still there under the surface. Three of the French women accept the offer of a drive into the mountains with two Cypriot men, which results in drinking, dancing, and sex. Three of the French men go in search of them, while also intoxicated rescue their comrades, and then, to punish their disloyalty, stop in the woods in an attempt to rape them. After drunken struggles among the trees, the men drive off and the women are left to walk all the way back to the hotel. The next morning everything seemingly returns to normal, with military discipline resumed as the soldiers, men and women together, board a plane for Paris.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ "Voir du pays (2016) - JPBox-Office".
  2. ^ BACLE, ARIANA. "Cannes Film Festival reveals 2016 lineup". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (21 May 2016). "Un Certain Regard Winners: 'The Happiest Day', 'Captain Fantastic's Matt Ross, 'The Red Turtle' – Cannes". Retrieved 21 May 2016.
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