Sydney Film Festival 2026 - Film Review - The Rays and Shadows

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The Rays and Shadows is set in the immediate period before and during World War II and is based on the true life story of newspaper publisher, Jean Luchaire and his daughter, Corinne, a French film actress. Luchaire supports peace between France and Germany and becomes a collaborator with the German occupying forces and a member of the Vichy Government until 1945.

The plot: Jean Luchaire (Jean Dujardin) is a failing newspaper publisher who co-sponsors a peace movement with Germany. He befriends Francophile German citizen, Otto Abetz who secures additional finance for Luchaire's newpaper from German Government sources. When WWII breaks out, Abetz is appointed as the Nazi German Ambassador to the Vichy Government and continues supporting Luchaire. Luchaire's daugher, Corrine (Nastya Golubeva) is a rising star in French cinema but as the war looms her opportunities decline due to a diagnosis of tuberculosis and she increasingly becomes dependent on German support for her career. Both she and her father benefit not only from the German occupation of France but from a range of black market opportunities, embassy parties and access to the Nazi administration. The film portrays the seduction of collaboration, power and privilege extensively. After the war, Jean Luchaire, was placed on trial by the French and executed. His daughter Corrine was found guilty of collaboration but deemed to have committed a lower level offence and she spent her final years under the sentence of indignite nationale before dying from tuberculosis in 1950. 

Nastya Golubeva in The Rays and Shadows

The film is expertly photographed with capable actors however with a screening time of over three hours, the film is too long and would have benefitted from sharper editing. Too many scenes are ancillary to the story and neither essential nor useful. Described as a 'sweeping drama', film director and screenwriter Xavier Giannoli could have wielded the red pen on the script and editing room 'scissors' before release.

Run time: 199 minutes

Rating [/10]: 6 out of 10

Recommended for cinema viewing: No. Recommended for streaming or subscription service viewing