In 1917, Bakary Diallo enlists in the French army to join his 17-year-old son, Thierno, who has been forcibly recruited. Sent to the front, they will have to face the war together. While Thierno learns to become a man, Bakary will do everything to bring him back safely.

Set in French Senegal during World War I, the French government conscripted Senegalese soldiers to fight on the brutal battlefields of Europe. Bakary raises livestock with his son Thierno in the harsh desert to support his family. He sends his son to hide when he hears that French soldiers are coming. Thierno is eventually discovered and taken to a boot camp in Senegal. In a desperate attempt to save his son, Bakary enlists as a volunteer and tries to escape with him, but their plans fail. They ended up in devastating European battlefields where over a million people died in one battle. Even Africans cheat each other and commit robbery to survive. While Bakary struggles to find his son and escape the chaos, Thierno impresses his commander with his French language skills and wants to become a hero, leading the two men to experience different types of warfare. This heart-wrenching human drama premiered as the opening film in the Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, highlighting the father’s love and the enduring effects of war. (CHUN Jinsu)