A simple story of young pilots ,written by Robert Grasset ,a pilot reportd missing in Tobruk ,1943,one deals with a nationalist militarist work , which reflected the post -WW2 zeitgeist .
The plot is rather naive, the characters are cardboard ,all is terribly conventional and predictable;yet ,it retains some charm ,the charm of old-fashioned things,of bygone days : the camaraderie between the boys ,their pranks ,the daredevil recruit who provokes angry responses from his superiors ...
WW2 is represented by a widow ,Mrs Granier,a godmother of sorts to this youth ,who lives in the souvenir of her killed in action husband .She's got two gorgeous nieces;one of them,Estelle, is soon the cause of a rivalry :Brécourt, jealous of daredevil Martin in love with the girl, goes as far as to accuse him of a crash which almost claims the lieutenant's life ...and which may bring his career to an end.
The title is well-chosen;it means « the big aviary » ; "now we release them" ,the commander says, at the end of the movie, "and they will fly away....."
The plot is rather naive, the characters are cardboard ,all is terribly conventional and predictable;yet ,it retains some charm ,the charm of old-fashioned things,of bygone days : the camaraderie between the boys ,their pranks ,the daredevil recruit who provokes angry responses from his superiors ...
WW2 is represented by a widow ,Mrs Granier,a godmother of sorts to this youth ,who lives in the souvenir of her killed in action husband .She's got two gorgeous nieces;one of them,Estelle, is soon the cause of a rivalry :Brécourt, jealous of daredevil Martin in love with the girl, goes as far as to accuse him of a crash which almost claims the lieutenant's life ...and which may bring his career to an end.
The title is well-chosen;it means « the big aviary » ; "now we release them" ,the commander says, at the end of the movie, "and they will fly away....."