source: Vivandière

I can forgive low budget filmmaking and its accompany ills as long the story is well written and told with imagination. Sadly, that is not the case with Vivandiere. For every red smoke cloud billowing out of a cannon to represent blood, there's a poorly shot scene which is set up like a stage play. One example is when the maid is telling the northern woman to not play billiards with her brother's friends because it could threaten his political clout. It is shot entirely from the back. We never get to see the actors' faces. Historically Accuracy? Regiments were transferred from Virginia to fight in Missouri in 1863 and then back to Virginia. I get it that the filmmakers were trying to include a William Quantrill, but there were guerrillas who committed atrocities east of the Mississippi. They could have easily made someone up. My main problem is the ending. We see the southern and northern characters reconcile as they flee Confederate authorities. Then the train explodes and the bridge collapses. That's a pretty climactic scene with a resolution. However, the film goes on for another 10 minutes, flash forwarding to the 1870s. The Confederate general, who was a good guy for most of the film, shows up. For some reason the characters know he is there to exact revenge. Revenge for what? Being upset that the girls stole a train engine isn't enough motivation enough. Why was the train so important? Why would the loss of it cause him to be hell-bent on vengeance for so many years? Did the loss of the train result in the death of someone close to him? Unclear. He was going to execute the northern girl's brother because he was caught in a Confederate uniform behind southern lines because that qualified him as a spy. Being upset that a supposed spy got away isn't enough to turn him into a villain. And how do the girls know he is still angry that a prisoner escaped? Southern girl being thrown from a horse the day before so she could have a rifle attached to her leg was convenient. And the final lines of a bleeding old man lying on the floor, "What have you done to me," was just awful. It gives the ending a horror movie feel instead of a period drama. And worst of all, it does not make you sympathetic to the female characters who the film is supposed to honor. The story of women in the American Civil War, especially vivandieres, deserve to be honored with a film. However, this film, especially with its ending, is not the one.

The whole movie felt like it was rushed into production and tried to squeeze two hours into fifty minutes. For instance the scene where the girl is playing snooker with her brother's friends and humiliates them by winning so that they vote against her brother to get the rank of captain happens too quickly. This should have been more fleshed out for the viewer's understanding. Both girls leave their homes and suddenly they're on the battlefield. There wasn't enough time for character development and a very good story was lost here. I love historical dramas and this would have been better as a feature film. Today we see many women serving in the armed forces and it is pretty much accepted as no big deal. However, in the past women had stereotypically three roles to fill in frontline one was a nurse and the other was a prostitute and the third alternative was disguising themselves as men. However there was a fourth role that is overlooked by historians and the media and that are the Vivandière who were pretty much the glue that kept the army in tact by supplying the soldiers with food, drink, and other items and kept the men from deserting. The Vivandieres, were strong bold women usually related to the soldiers and fought along with the men making them even more courageous.

The story is confusing and is not engaging. There's some attempt at character development, but it isn't enough to make me care about any of the characters. Production is on a tight budget, and there are scenes you can see it's literally a cardboard background.

This film needed more work, especially in editing, and a lot more rehearsing to not seem ,ime a stage play. A lot should have been cut, and a lot added- the viewer has to fill in a lot of blank spots, which was too easy as there's nothing very original or creative in this production despite seeming like a good idea. Potential but no fire.

Vivandière