The Best Film Diary 2023
Only films I watched in 2023 for the first time and I voted minimum 8.
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- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsThomas MannRJ CylerOlivia CookeHigh schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenMagnus MillangFour high-school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsZiyi ZhangTakeshi KaneshiroAndy LauA romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
- DirectorMaria SchraderStarsZoe KazanCarey MulliganPatricia ClarksonJodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's quest to break the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
- DirectorVáclav MarhoulStarsPetr KotlárNina SunevicAlla SokolovaA young Jewish boy somewhere in Eastern Europe seeks refuge during World War II where he encounters many different characters.
- DirectorPanah PanahiStarsPantea PanahihaMohammad Hassan MadjooniRayan SarlakFollows a chaotic, tender family that is on a road trip across a rugged landscape and fussing over the sick dog and getting on each others' nerves. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsJude HillLewis McAskieCaitríona BalfeA young boy and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsTilda SwintonBilly ZaneQuentin CrispAfter Queen Elizabeth I commands him not to grow old, a young nobleman struggles with love and his place in the world.
- DirectorJasmila ZbanicStarsJasna DjuricicIzudin BajrovicBoris LerAida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp.
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
- DirectorDarius MarderStarsRiz AhmedOlivia CookePaul RaciA heavy metal drummer's life is turned upside down when he begins to lose his hearing and he must confront a future filled with silence.
- DirectorYigong WuStarsJie ShenMin ZhangFengyi ZhangYingzi is a young, impressionable girl living on the southern side of Beijing in the late 1920s. Encountering people in the city, she tries to understand how people are really like inside through her own eyes.
- DirectorRuijun LiStarsRenlin WuHai-QingGuangrui YangThe humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. To survive, they have to come together and build a home for themselves.
- DirectorIlker ÇatakStarsLeonie BeneschAnne-Kathrin GummichRafael StachowiakWhen one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
- DirectorByambasuren DavaaStarsBatchuluun UrjindorjBuyandulam DaramdadiNansal BatchuluunThe little Nansal finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend against all rejections of her parents.
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsCate BlanchettNoémie MerlantNina HossSet in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra.
- DirectorElwira NiewieraPiotr RosolowskiStarsSlavik GavianetsKatia KotliarovaRoman KrivdikA group of young Ukrainians is preparing a modern stage version of Hamlet. Their goal is to use their own wartime experiences and traumas to relate to Shakespeare's play.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsVincent CasselReda KatebHélène VincentThe story of two men, educators of children and adolescents with autism.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsTahar RahimNouhe Hamady BariSaadna HamoudMohamedou Ould Slahi fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsIoan GruffuddAlbert FinneyMichael GambonThe idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsTommy LewisFreddy ReynoldsAngela Punch McGregorAfter suffering racist abuse throughout his life - which intensifies following his marriage to a white woman - a half-Aboriginal farmhand finds himself driven to murder.
- DirectorWolfgang BeckerStarsJürgen VogelChristiane PaulRicky TomlinsonAfter he loses his job, his father, and his girlfriend, Jan's life is a shambles. Then suddenly he meets freakish street musician Vera, and a bittersweet romance unfolds...
- DirectorUlrich SchamoniStarsSabine SinjenBruno DietrichHorst Manfred AdloffAbout a young couple and their marriage crisis resulting from a concealed pregnancy and abortion.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiDaoming ChenHuiwen ZhangLu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no longer recognizes him.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsSteve CarellThe story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsIsmail GhaffariAllah-Morad RashtianFarzin SabooniMamo, an old and legendary Kurdish musician living in Iran, plans to give one final concert in Iraqi Kurdistan. After seven months of trying to get a permit and rounding up his ten sons, he sets out for the long and troublesome journey in a derelict bus, denying a recurring vision of his own death at half moon. Halfway the party halts at a small village to pick up female singer Hesho, which will only add to the difficulty of the undertaking, as it is forbidden for Iranian women to sing in public, let alone in the company of men. But Mamo is determined to carry through, if not for the gullible antics of the bus driver.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDirk BogardeMargaret LeclerePamela FranklinBritish children hide Mother's death. Then, Father returns.
- DirectorJennifer FoxStarsLaura DernJason RitterCommonA woman filming a documentary on childhood rape victims starts to question the nature of her childhood relationship with her riding instructor and running coach.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsShôichi OzawaSumiko SakamotoKeiko SagawaWhile avoiding the mob and local authorities, a world-weary pornographer finds being a family man the most difficult as he wrestles with his own desires and afflictions.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsBrad PittMargot RobbieJean SmartA tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
- DirectorAndreas KleinertStarsAlbrecht SchuchJella HaaseIoana IacobRebel. Poet. Revolutionary: LIEBER THOMAS is a declaration of love to writer Thomas Brasch, congenially brought to life by exceptional actor Albrecht Schuch.
- DirectorTevfik BaserStarsÖzay FechtYaman OkayDemir GökgölA Turk has brought a young Turk woman from Turkey to his flat in Germany. The woman does not know much about Germany nor can she speak German.
- DirectorKeith GordonStarsNick NolteSheryl LeeTony RobinowAn American spy behind the lines during WWII serves as a Nazi propagandist, a role he cannot escape in his future life as he can never reveal his real role in the war.
- DirectorFlorian EichingerStarsAndreas DöhlerJessica SchwarzKatrin PollittAt a family gathering on a boat, engineer Markus vaguely remembers what his mother did to him when he was a child. Soon, Markus and his wife Monika have to face an unthinkable truth and violation, that a mother would seem incapable of.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsRooney MaraClaire FoyJessie BuckleyDo nothing, stay and fight, or leave. In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith.
- DirectorMohsen MakhmalbafStarsNelofer PaziraHassan TantaiIke OgutAfter an Afghanistan-born woman who lives in Canada receives a letter from her suicidal sister, she takes a perilous journey through Afghanistan to try to find her.
- DirectorSean PennStarsJack NicholsonBenicio Del ToroPatricia ClarksonA retiring police detective pledges to catch the killer of a young child.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsCharles McCallumJohn FrawleyArthur DignamFred Schepisi's first feature is this lushly photographed period drama detailing a young boy's coming-of-age in a strict Catholic seminary in 1950s Australia.
- DirectorStéphanie ChuatVéronique ReymondStarsNina HossLars EidingerMarthe KellerLisa has bid goodbye to her ambitions as a playwright and the Berlin arts scene and now lives in Switzerland with her husband, who runs an international school. When her twin brother falls ill, she returns to Berlin.
- DirectorFranziska StünkelStarsLars EidingerDevid StriesowLuise HeyerLife of Werner Teske, the last man to be executed in former East Germany in 1981 before the death penalty was finally abolished in 1987.
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsSuzy AmisBo HopkinsIan McKellenAfter being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.
- DirectorSergio G. SánchezStarsGeorge MacKayAnya Taylor-JoyCharlie HeatonA young man and his three younger siblings, who have kept secret the death of their beloved mother in order to remain together, are plagued by a sinister presence in the sprawling manor in which they live.
- DirectorMarie KreutzerStarsVicky KriepsFlorian TeichtmeisterKatharina LorenzA fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth Of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsMichael J. FoxDavis GuggenheimTracy PollanFollows the life of beloved actor and advocate Michael J. Fox, exploring his personal and professional triumphs and travails, and what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsRoman Griffin DavisThomasin McKenzieScarlett JohanssonA young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country's dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
- DirectorLukas DhontStarsEden DambrineGustav De WaeleÉmilie DequenneThe intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi's mother. "Close" is a film about friendship and responsibility.
- DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsBrendan FraserSadie SinkTy SimpkinsA reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogScott RowlandStefan PashovFilm-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsFrancis LacombradeDidier HaudepinFrançois LecciaA tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the upperclassman who is the object of his desire. All set in the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsMorgan FreemanIsrael LauLivia ShacterThe story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
- DirectorAisling WalshStarsSally HawkinsEthan HawkeZachary BennettAn arthritic Nova Scotia woman works as a housekeeper while she hones her skills as an artist and eventually becomes a beloved figure in the community.
- DirectorFrance StiglicStarsJohn KitzmillerEvelyne WohlfeilerTugo StiglicDuring WWII in Slovenia, two orphaned children seeking the imaginary Valley of Peace run into a downed black American pilot who tries to protect them from the Germans until the Yugoslav Partisans can arrive.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisJeremy IronsSamuel L. JacksonJohn McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
- DirectorEmerald FennellStarsCarey MulliganBo BurnhamAlison BrieNothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be - she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonBridget FondaThree blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
- DirectorRomuald KarmakarStarsGötz GeorgeJürgen HentschPierre FranckhFritz Haarmann, who has killed at least 27 boys, is questioned by a psychology professor in order to find out whether he is sane and can be held responsible for his crimes. During this interrogation Haarmann reveals his motives and his killing methods.
- DirectorAbdullah OguzStarsTalat BulutÖzgü NamalMurat HanWhen an unmarried teenage girl is believed by her family to have given up her virginity, she is ordered to be killed out of shame. But before her relative is able to complete the task, the two encounter a college professor.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
- DirectorEric GravelStarsLaure CalamyAnne SuarezGeneviève MnichJust when Julie finally gets an interview for a job that will let her raise her children better, she runs into a national transportation strike.
- DirectorSally El HosainiStarsMatthias SchweighöferAli SulimanJames Krishna FloydFrom war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.
- DirectorAudrey DiwanStarsAnamaria VartolomeiKacey Mottet KleinLuàna BajramiAn adaptation of Annie Ernaux's novel of the same name, looking back on her experience with abortion when it was still illegal in France in the 1960s.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsPhyllis CalvertJack HawkinsTerence MorganMandy Garland was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught, and they enroll her with a special teacher.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsThérèse LiotardValérie MairesseRobert DadièsThe lives of Pomme, an aspiring singer, and Suzanne, a struggling mother, as they search for their own identity in 1970s France.
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenStarsSteve CarellMaura TierneyJack Dylan GrazerBased on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
- DirectorTorsten KörnerStarsCarola von Braun-StützeHerta Däubler-GmelinRenate Faerber-HusemannDIE UNBUGSAMEN tells the story of women in the Bonn republic who literally had to fight for their participation in the democratic decision-making processes against success-obsessed and officially drunk men like real pioneers. Undaunted, ambitious and with infinite patience, they followed their path and defied prejudice and sexual discrimination. Politicians from back then have their say today. Her memories are funny and bitter at the same time, absurd and at times terrifyingly topical. The documentary filmmaker and journalist Torsten Körner ("Angela Merkel - The Unexpected") has succeeded in creating an emotionally moving chronicle of West German politics from the 1950s to reunification, intertwined with partially unseen archive cuttings. The images he has found unfold a force that allows cinema to be rediscovered as a place of political self-assurance. An insightful contemporary document that makes an unmistakable contribution to the current discussion.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsRichard DreyfussGlenne HeadlyJay ThomasA frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsAnnette BeningElle FanningGreta GerwigThe story of a teenage boy, his mother, and two other women who help raise him among the love and freedom of Southern California of 1979.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsRichard HarrisJohn HurtSean BeanWhen a field (which has been farmed by the McCabe family for generations) goes up for auction, the patriarch of the McCabe family will stop at nothing to prevent a rich American from buying it.
- DirectorBill DouglasStarsRobin SoansWilliam GaminaraStephen BatemanThe story of "The Tolpuddle Martyrs". A group of nineteenth century English farm laborers who formed one of the first trade unions and started a campaign to receive fair wages.
- DirectorAlex van WarmerdamStarsJack WouterseAnnet MalherbeRudolf LucieerDuring the summer of 1960, the idiosyncratic residents of a one-street Dutch suburb collide in intertwining stories of desire and frustration.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter FalkAlan ArkinRichard LibertiniOn the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators.
- DirectorAlex LehmannStarsMark DuplassSarah PaulsonClu GulagerMeeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsRiver PhoenixLili TaylorRichard PanebiancoBefore leaving to fight in Vietnam, a group of teenagers play a game where they try to seduce the ugliest girl they can find.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerHerbert LomPeggy CumminsA rookie trucker tries to expose his boss' rackets.
- DirectorAlexander KlugeStarsAlexandra KlugeFranz BronskiBion SteinbornRoswitha is working to carry out illegal abortions, to support her husband and two children. The police discovers her and the husband is arrested. Roswitha gets involved in social work and politics.
- DirectorJon S. BairdStarsSteve CooganJohn C. ReillyShirley HendersonLaurel and Hardy, the world's most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song: a grueling theatre tour of post-war Britain.
- DirectorOliver HermanusStarsBill NighyAimee Lou WoodAlex SharpIn 1950s London, a humorless bureaucrat decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis.
- DirectorMohammad RasoulofStarsAli NasirianHossein FarzizadeNeda PakdamanSome poor people in the Southern coasts of Iran do not have any place to live, and thus, they reside on an old, abandoned ship in the sea. Captain Nemat, their chief, tries to persuade the ship-owner and the official authorities not to get the ship back. On the other hand, he is selling the iron parts of the ship piece by piece. 'Iron Island' is the story of those whose ignorance makes them simply trust those who are always ready to abuse their trust.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsMaximilian SchellRod SteigerRobby BensonIn 1944, in Brooklyn, two Jewish kids become friends. One is from a very conservative family, and the other is more liberal. The issues of importance of tradition, parental expectations and the formation of Israel cause constant friction.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsCillian MurphyMorgan JonesEva BirthistleIn the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town's understanding.
- DirectorTony AyresStarsJoan ChenYuwu QiJoel LokA man remembers his childhood and his mother, a Chinese night club singer who struggled to survive in Australia with her two children.
- DirectorJack LeeStarsVirginia McKennaPeter FinchKenji TakakiA newly wealthy English woman returns to Malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war. Thinking back, she recalls the Australian man who made a great sacrifice to aid her and her fellow prisoners of war.
- DirectorLuis García BerlangaStarsRichard BasehartJosé IsbertPaolo StoppaIn the village of Fuentecilla is a medicinal spa which was very popular in the past but has now been forgotten by the public. To bring back the tourists, the "prominent men" of the village organize a fake miracle: the apparition of San Dimas, the local patron saint, which will take place every Thursday night. At first it works, but trouble begins when a stranger appears, claiming that he knows what's going on and making peculiar demands in exchange for his silence.
- DirectorRobert TowneStarsBilly CrudupDonald SutherlandMonica PotterThe life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
- DirectorJane AndersonStarsJulianne MooreWoody HarrelsonLaura DernIn order to support her ten children, Evelyn Ryan enters a commercial jingle-writing contest.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsCaleb Landry JonesJudy DavisSean KeenanEvents leading up to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre on Tasmania in an attempt to understand why and how the atrocity occurred.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsJonah HillMiles TellerSteve LantzLoosely based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a three hundred million dollar contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
- DirectorMaggie BettsStarsJamie FoxxTommy Lee JonesJurnee SmollettInspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsArmin Mueller-StahlElisabeth TrissenaarWojciech PszoniakIn the winter of 1942-43, a Jewish family leaps from a train going through Silesia. They are separated in the woods, and Leon, a local peasant who's now a farmer of some wealth, discovers the woman, Rosa, and hides her in his cellar. Leon's a middle-aged Catholic bachelor, tormented by his sexual drive. He doesn't tell Rosa he's seen signs her husband is alive, and he begs her to love him. Rosa offers herself to Leon if he'll help a local Jew in hiding who needs money. Leon pays, and love between Rosa and him does develop, but then Leon's peasant subservience and his limited empathy lead to tragedy. At the war's end, a ray of sunshine comes from an unexpected place.
- DirectorJoel CoenStarsDenzel WashingtonFrances McDormandAlex HassellA Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.
- DirectorAntonia BirdStarsLinus RoacheTom WilkinsonRobert CarlyleA homosexual Catholic priest finds out during confessional that a young girl is being sexually abused by her father, and has to decide how to deal with both that secret and his own.
- DirectorMarkus ImhoofStarsTina EngelHans DiehlMartin WalzDuring World War II, Switzerland severely limited refugees: "Our boat is full." A train from Germany halts briefly in an isolated corner of Switzerland. Six people jump off seeking asylum: four Jews, a French child, and a German soldier. They seek temporary refuge with a couple who run a village inn. They pose as a family: the deserter as husband, Judith as his wife, an old man from Vienna as her father, his granddaughter and the French lad, whom they beg to keep silent, as their children. Judith's teenage brother poses as a soldier. The fabrication unravels through chance and the local constable's exact investigation. Whom will the Swiss allow to stay? Who gets deported?
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsJames CaanPaul SorvinoLauren HuttonAxel Freed is a literature professor. He has the gambling vice. When he has lost all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then his mother, and finally some bad guys that chase him. Despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsPeter FinchYvonne MitchellJames MasonA chronicle of Oscar Wilde's libel suit against the Marquis of Queensberry and the tragic turn his life takes because of it.
- DirectorPeter LandesmanStarsWill SmithAlec BaldwinAlbert BrooksIn Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
- DirectorAli SoozandehStarsJasmina AliHasan Ali MeteZar Amir EbrahimiIn their desperate search for freedom and happiness, four young people from Tehran, Iran are forced to break the taboos of a restrictive, islamic society.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsRichard AttenboroughJack HawkinsFlora RobsonAnachronistic strict Regimental Sergeant Major Lauderdale (Sir Richard Attenborough), on a remote colonial African army caught in a local coup d'etat, must use his experience to defend those in his care.