The Salient

The Salient-- the half circle north and east of the Flemish city of Ypres-- was one of the most contested spots of the Great War. No more than five miles across, more than a million people were killed or wounded in this small area during four years of bitter fighting. Over time the Ypres Salient came to symbolize every description heard in con¬junction with the Great War: sacrifice, courage, honor and duty just as much as chaos, slaughter, calamity and utter senselessness. The film is structured as a requiem , relying on music written for that purpose, mostly 19th century and by composers from both sides of the line. In stark contrast with the beauty of the music are the accounts of people who witnessed the Salient's horrors firsthand. The film thus pits the best of what Europe ever produced against its absolute worst. And so the film turns into a requiem not only for the fallen, but also for a city, an age and, quite possibly, for sanity itself.