A combination of several dramatisations of short stories by the famous French writer. A village in the French countryside. Life seems to be resuming its old ways after the war. Although enemy soldiers are everywhere, people are trying to live their normal, mundane lives with their worries and joys. After the dark days of living and dying, the village prepares for the celebration of the First Holy Communion. Guests from the city arrive, extended families gather, and the village is ready for a great folk festival. However, this is interrupted by a ban; the commander of the occupation squad forbids the out-of-towners to leave the village. A power that has hitherto lurked in the background as a vague threat suddenly becomes fully revealed. In a borderline situation, people's characters come out, and the festive day turns into a bitter grotesque. Maupassant was a ruthless observer of his own contemporaries. His texts are bursting with irony, surprising points and grotesqueness, but at the same time with a very deep knowledge of human nature and life.

 

 

Première June 7, 2025