August 1914. While the German army is gaining ground in the North of France, four boys aged 10 to 15, LUcien, LUcas, LUigi and LUdwig are left behind during the evacuation of their orphanage. Without the protection of Abbé Turpin and the schoolteacher Leutellier, the Lulus are now stranded on their own behind the enemy front line. Soon joined by LUce, a pretty young girl separated from her parents, they decide to reach the neutral country of Switzerland by all means possible... they embark on an adventure for which nothing and no one has prepared them!
Acting
Kid ensemble that actually feels like real children, not tiny adults.
Cinematography
Pastoral beauty constantly invaded by smoke, soldiers, and dread.
Direction
Samuell balances Spielberg wonder with unflinching historical weight.
Director
Yann Samuell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The five lead children were non-professionals discovered in open casting across France and Belgium; Samuell insisted on authentic regional accents.
The 'Lulus' nickname references both the alliterative names and pre-WWI French slang for naive young soldiers—innocents thrown into mechanized slaughter.
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