Souvenir

In 1944, a dashing German soldier and a beautiful French girl fell deeply in love while World War II raged on. More than forty years later, Ernest Kestner, retired and recently widowed, leaves his adopted home in New York and returns to France to visit his headstrong, estranged daughter, with the fleeting hope of finding the love he was forced to leave behind. But this is no ordinary vacation in the charming French countryside. The mood is strangely dark, and what Kestner and his daughter encounter is completely unexpected as the veteran soldier seeks the ultimate Souvenir - born from the ashes of a horrible, hidden secret. Based on the true story of Oradour-sur-Glane, a French town that was nearly wiped out near the end of WWII. Most every man, woman and child was gunned down or burned in retaliation for the French Resistance. The entire ruined town has been preserved as a national memorial. - Written by Mackinac Media Inc.

Directed by Geoffrey Reeve, Souvenir leans on a strong ensemble — Christopher Plummer, Catherine Hicks, Michael Lonsdale — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1989.