Justin le Juste, the new historical film from Éric Barbier, reveals its poster ahead of its theatrical release on September 23, 2026. Alban Ivanov stars as a peasant drafted to the front during the First World War, alongside Birane Ba and Alexandra Lamy.
In 1915, Justin knows the war only through the law that forces him off his farm. Drafted when he should be tending his fields, he is compelled to fight an enemy he has never seen and for reasons that elude him. The film thus adopts the perspective of a man distant from the military and political rhetoric of his era.
On the front lines, Justin meets Basile, a Senegalese tirailleur played by Birane Ba. Together, they uncover the injustices of a command that treats them primarily as interchangeable soldiers. Their growing bond pushes Justin to question orders and become a hero who defies traditional military archetypes.
The screenplay, written by Éric Barbier, draws on Justin-le-Juste ou La Charrette, a work by Jean Pompougnac published in 1967. This literary origin lets the film approach the Great War from the margins: those of a modest peasant and a soldier drawn from colonial troops, confronted with an institution whose rules and aims they neither understand nor fully grasp.
Around Alban Ivanov and Birane Ba, the ensemble also features Alexandra Lamy, Thierry Hancisse, and Nicolas Avinée. The film grants Alban Ivanov a more dramatic historical register, while Birane Ba, a veteran of the Comédie-Française, portrays the soldier with whom Justin comes to grasp the power dynamics within the army.
Eric Barbier, in his eighth feature, continues to explore the realm of literary adaptation. The director had previously brought to the screen Romain Gary’s La Promesse de l’aube and Gaël Faye’s Petit Pays. Justin le Juste debuted in a premiere screening at the 2026 edition of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival.
To gear up for your screening, also check out the September cinema releases, our pick of historical films to see on the big screen, and the titles currently playing in cinemas.
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