Guilt By Association

“This Is Our Land” and “Le Corbeau.”

- Anthony Lane

The heroine of “This Is Our Land,” Pauline Duhez (Émilie Dequenne), doesn’t want to be a heroine of anything. That is both her problem and her strength. She is a visiting nurse in the northern French town of Hénart, popular with her patients and admired in the community. She is also a single mother, with two children to look after, and an ailing father, Jacques (Patrick Descamps), who used to be a hard-line union man. Her days are full of duties, and she fulfills them all. As for politics, Pauline never votes. “It’s no use,” she says. Like everyone, she has grievances and gripes, but nothing rancorous, and, besides, why make a fuss?

Enter the R.N.P., or Renewed Nation Party, a freshly forged (and fictitious) political force. The shrewd boast of the R.N.P. is that it will reach over the heads of a tattered establishment and appeal to those who, in the mind of the Party, represent the authentic France. Dominating the movement, like the carved figure on the prow of a warship, is Agnès Dorgelle (Catherine Jacob), whose rallies amount to an act of collective worship. She herself is standing for office in Hénart, and, by way of backup, she needs someone to run as mayor—a local candidate, scandal-free, and already familiar with the area. That is where Pauline comes in.