After being rejected for a long time, the film "Des hommes" by Lucas Belvaux will be released on June 2. It tells the story of men haunted by memories of the Algerian War, while their country wants to forget. Jean-Pierre Darroussin, one of the actors in the film, explains on Europe 1 the importance of looking history in the face, thanks in particular to the cinema.

"Des hommes" finally hits theaters on June 2.

This is the fourth release date for Lucas Belvaux's feature film, selected by the Cannes Festval 2020, and it should be the right one.

Based on the eponymous novel by Laurent Mauvignier, the film tells the story of the life and memories of former conscripts of the Algerian War.

Haunted by their demons, these men, interpreted in particular by Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Gérard Depardieu, must also deal with an entourage, and a whole country, anxious to forget this dark page in the history of France.

A work that can make people understand "what is history for", judged Jean-Pierre Darroussin on Friday on Europe 1. 

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"What is complicated for these soldiers is that we did not listen to" their testimonies, recalls the actor.

Because the time, "when the country was discovering its youth, when the country was trying to conquer modernity", was not listening to "these guys who had lived the horror, who had lived atrocious things ".

"When there is no culprit, there are not many innocent people"

"It was decided at the Evian Accords that there would be no war crimes trials, that we would try to forget all that. But when there is no culprit, well there is no 'there are not many innocent people, ”continues Jean-Pierre Darroussin. "And suddenly, everyone felt at fault and it created resentment. And we know that resentment is something that ends up destroying social fabric, family relationships, all that."

And the actor to deliver his vision of History. "If, all of a sudden, we no longer know where we must go, or if we are blindfolded, that you are in a place, that you will have to escape and find your way, you will have to reconstitute by where you went in your head to understand why you are there, how you are there. That's history, "explains Jean-Pierre Darroussin. "It's getting to put together your own film of what life was like at one time."