The Deserter's Wife (1991)

Film · December 20, 1991

Nina (Fanny Ardant) is a French concert pianist, Ilan (Sharon Alexander) is an Israeli computer specialist visiting Paris. A romance springs up between them, and they get married. Not long afterward, Ilan is called into the Israeli army to serve his obligatory tour of duty. Things are heating up with Saddam Hussein (it is just before the Gulf War), who has just invaded Kuwait. Nina receives a call from the military informing her that her husband was wounded in combat. She rushes to his side and soon discovers that he was wounded by Israeli soldiers while he was in the process of deserting his post. It is clear from his own zombie-fied behavior that this allegation is true. Despite this horrifying revelation, she still loves him, but becomes increasingly estranged from the society around her because she feels shunned. On top of all this, she must soon make her concert debut with the Israel Philharmonic.