The Breitner Commando

This film has everything it needed to be a decent war flick (desperate soldiers, secret mission, fanatical rebels... ) except a good director. The story (a band of rag-tag soldiers with a checkered past is out against all odds to recover a souvenir from a French colonel who died at the hands of Algerian rebels in the French-Algerian War) dies trying to reach its objectives because the director's heavy handed style cuts it down in its youth. There is enough natural melodrama in the story that it's unnecessary to push these excellent actors (especially the always on point Olivier Gourmet and Lyna Khoudri who shined in Papicha) so far over the top that they go over the edge. It's a shame because if this film had only stuck to its guns rather than beat us over the head with them, it would've been an easy recommend.