Le Rouge et le Gris

“When I was 18, I read Storm of Steel. I was fascinated by the detailed descriptions, that were exempt of any psychological charge, of any affect. Jünger’s writing was like photography. I was already a photographer back then. This book introduced me to literature.” Thus spoke François Lagarde, who died in January 2017, as he was finishing his film. After twenty years of a patient and passionate gathering, resulting in a collection of thousands of pictures from the German side, most of whom were never seen before, Le Rouge et le Gris offers an adaptation of Ernest Jünger’s famous war memoir. By confronting History, photography and texts, read by Hubertus Biermann, the film shows the passage from the ancient world of 1914- 1915, the Red of the 19th century, to the Grey that replaced it, the colour of “the resident of a new world”. (NF)