Just a little heads up for those who may not have spotted this but might be interested, on Antenne 2 Tuesday next, a dramatisation of rather a weird and macabre episode during the War. In 1917, at Veurnes, in the little bit of Belgium still unoccupied, a young man was sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend. Belgium had not applied the death penalty for 50 years but for some reason the authorities decided to carry it out. With no executioners and no guillotines available they called on the French for help. The executioner, plus his guillotine, had to be escorted throught the war zone from Paris to Veurnes.
Made last year, it's called Le Voyage de la Veuve, and it starts at 20:50. I'll be watching

cheers Martin B

Hello Martin and the forums pals!!!

The nameof the city is Furnes, the name of the young man....Ferfaille... and the executioner... the well known Anatole Debler...... and Clemenceau himself gave his agreement!!!

The ' Guillotine' trip crosses the british lines... !!!! so a lot of forum pals will be interested!!


cheers

Joel

Salut Joel

Furnes en français, Veurne (sans 's') en flamand.

Forum pals will be looking out to see if the French film makers have got everything right regarding the British forces!

cheers Martin B

And in 1996 Siegfried Debaeke (Uitgeverij De Klaproos) wrote a book about this.
"De Laatste Onthoofding" (The Last Decapitation, book only available in Dutch (Flemish), and I am not sure it still is.)

And the name of the Flemish town is Veurne !
Furnes is the French name.
(Sorry, couldn't help it.)

Aurel
(Edited later : Sorry Martin, hadn't seen your posting at the time I was writing mine.)

hello Martin...

thank you for the explanation of the city double name!!

the title of the movie.. "la voyage de la veuve" or in english the journey of the widow...

the widow is the nickname for the ' guillotine'!!!


and to know more about it...


http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine


cheers

Joel

It reminds me of the movie 'La Veuve de Saint Pierre' with Juliette Binoche, when they had to bring a guillotine from mainland France across the Atlantic to execute a murderer in Saint Pierre et Miquelon in the mouth of the Saint Lawrence.

cheers Martin B

So,no one had an axe handy ?
Wonder why they didn't just transport the boy to Paris,or send him down the rd. to Ypres?
Chances are the Germans would have shortened his life span easily enough.
Dave.

2 pictures from the movie.....





cheers

Joel

Dave, you are so cynical

it's a question of sovereignty, and justice being seen to be done, etc, etc

cheers Martin B

Paraphrasing the Topic Title :
For those in France who can read Flemish (Dutch).
And For those in Flanders who can receive Antenne 2 (and I think we all can here).

I have been informed that I was a little wrong when I wrote in my previous posting that De Laatste Onthoofding (The Last Decapitation) probably is no longer available in Dutch (Flemish).

Well, it still is, but now under the title
"Onthoofding aan het IJzerfront" (Decapitation at the Yser Front - but again : only in Dutch (Flemish)

http://www.klaproos.be/pers.htm
and
http://www.klaproos.be/onthoofding.htm

And it seems that we have to be on the lookout in the programme that Veurne (Furnes) is not mistakenly situated in German occupied territory, as has been done before !

Aurel

Well, I watched this last night, and it had its moments, though I reckon it took a great deal of dramatic licence -- for example, the civilian executioner being escorted with his guillotine had to be rescued from no man's land in the pouring rain. One moment everyone was trundling down a peaceful country road, and the next they were in the frontline trenches. The characters were a bit stock as well: pacifist nurse, intellectual colonial soldier, hard-bitten old corporal, etc

There was no sign of any Brits, and the second scene that Joel posted of the French and Germans together never figured.

But I'd quite like to read a factual account of what really happened, other than in Flemish

cheers Martin B

Hi Martin
Well I almost didn't make it past the first few minutes. The scene with the generals safe in Paris moving lead soldiers around the map was very Blackadder. There were some British soldiers, on the barge playing cards with the Germans ! So there were at least two of our lot in that sector. Truly awful in my opinion.

Can't you lot do anything but talk "chop"?

See here: http://www.radiobarachois.net/

I didn't see the film as we can't get the channel. I have read the synopsis and it did sound interesting. The general opinion seems to be unfavourable though. Did anyone record it as I would like to see the film to judge for myself.

Hello, Over here we call it a... ' navet' (Turnip'!!

another word for a third- rate film!!!!!

forget it::!!!

Cheers

joel

Will do. I'll find something more productive to do!