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Plot

In German-occupied France, Lucile Angellier and her domineering mother-in-law Madame Angellier await news of her husband Gaston, who was serving in the French Army. While visiting tenants, Lucile and Madame Angellier escape an air raid by German Ju 87 stuka bombers. Following the French surrender, a regiment of German soldiers arrives, and promptly moves into the homes of the villagers.

Wehrmacht Oberleutnant Bruno von Falk, a member of the German nobility, is billeted at the Angelliers' household. Lucile tries to ignore Bruno but is charmed by his gentlemanly demeanor and his piano music. He gives her a piece of the sheet music. Lucile later learns that her husband Gaston's unit has been imprisoned at a German POW camp. Elsewhere, the farmer Benoit and his wife Madeleine chafe under the German officer Kurt Bonnet, who harasses Madeleine. Benoit, who was denied the chance to fight because of his leg wound, hides a rifle. As an act of resistance, he steals the German soldiers' clothes while they are bathing.

When Lucile discovers that one of her mother-in-law's tenants Celine is having sex with a German soldier, Celine reveals that Gaston has been having an extramarital affair and has fathered a girl named Simone. Angry with Madame Angellier for withholding her son's affair, Lucile allows herself to develop romantic feelings for Bruno. At Lucile's request, Bruno confronts Kurt over his harassment. Lucile's relationship with Bruno draws the hostility of many of the townfolk.

The Viscountess de Montmort later catches Benoit stealing a chicken from her coop. When Benoit points a gun at her, she tells her husband, the collaborationist Viscount de Montmort, who sends German soldiers after Benoit. While hiding in a barn, Benoit kills Kurt with his gun and flees into the forest.

The Wehrmacht launches a manhunt and give the townsfolk 48 hours to surrender Benoit. A Wehrmacht Major takes the Viscount hostage and threatens to execute him if Benoit is not found. At Madeleine's request, Lucile hides Benoit in the attic of the Angellier mansion with the help of the reluctant Madame Angellier. Despite a massive manhunt, the Germans fail to capture Benoit and the Viscount is executed by firing squad.

As the Germans plan to withdraw from the town, Lucile takes part in a plan to smuggle Benoit into Paris, where the French Resistance is gathering. She manages to convince Bruno to issue her a travel pass to Paris. However, Bruno's suspicious orderly suspects that Lucile is harboring Benoit and issues special instructions for the checkpoint guards to search her car.

At the checkpoint, Benoit manages to shoot the German soldiers dead with his pistol but is wounded in the shoulder. Bruno arrives on a motorcycle. Lucile faces him with her pistol but is unable to kill him. To Lucile's relief, Bruno instead helps her lift the wounded Benoit into the car and allows them to escape to Paris. As she drives away, Lucile smiles at Bruno in gratitude. Lucile and Benoit later join the French resistance and help liberate France from the Germans. While Lucile later learns that Bruno von Falk perished during the war, she always treasures his musical score Suite Française.

Conception and adaptation

On 9 November 2006, Michael Fleming from Variety reported that the rights to Irène Némirovsky's novel Suite Française (written during the Nazi occupation of France but published posthumously in 2004) had been acquired by Universal Pictures. Irene was a novelist, murdered during the Holocaust, in Auschwitz. Her works were expected to have been created within the war years reworks Ronald Harwood, who wrote the script for The Pianist, was set to write the screenplay, with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall producing the film. The following year, TF1 Droits Audiovisuels acquired the rights to the novel from publisher Éditions Denoël. The novel was adapted for the screen by Saul Dibb and Matt Charman, with Dibb directing.

In 2013, the film, produced by France's TF1 Droits Audiovisuels and UK's Entertainment One, was given a budget of €15 million ($20 million). Mick Brown of The Daily Telegraph noted this was "big by European, if not American, standards". In May 2013, it was reported that Suite Française would be a co-production between France, U.K. and Belgium, with Xavier Marchand, Romain Bremond, Michael Kuhn and Andrea Cornwell producing the film along with American Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company serving as the executive producer.

Dibb focused his adaptation on book two of Némirovsky's novels, which explores the relationships between the French women and the German soldiers who occupied their village, in particular the story of Lucile Angellier. She is awaiting news of her husband, who went to war, when a German officer is billeted in her home.

Dibb said

in the making of the film I want to capture this strong sense of immediacy and authenticity. The action should feel that it's happening now – urgent, tense, spontaneous, made with no benefit of hindsight – like we've discovered a time capsule. And very far from a safe, stuffy period piece.

Dibb used the account of the discovery of the manuscript of the novel by Némirovsky's daughter, Denise Epstein, to book-end the film. Némirovsky's original manuscript is shown during the credits. Epstein died shortly before production began, but she read drafts of the script.

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