Birdsong (2012)

Birdsong is a two-episode BBC drama based on Sebastian Faulks’s bestselling novel. It follows Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman who goes to France in 1910 to work at a textile factory. While staying with the Azaire family, he begins a secret, passionate affair with Isabelle, his employer’s wife—an intense relationship that doesn’t end cleanly and leaves lasting consequences. Years later, Stephen is serving as an officer on the Western Front in World War I, where he faces the brutal reality of trench warfare and the emotional toll it takes. Moving between war and romance, Birdsong explores love, loss, memory, survival and how war can change a person forever.

War and love… this theme never gets old. Eddie Redmayne and Clémence Poésy deliver an incredible performance, and there’s a lot of French dialogue, which makes it great for language learning too. Highly recommend!