A Soldier's daughter never cries

Based on the autobiographical novel by Kaylie Jones, daughter of writer James Jones (From here to eternity, A Thin red line), “A Soldier’s daughter never cries” is the story of Channe Willis (Leelee Sobieski), her hard-drinking successful novelist and WWII veteran father, Bill (Kris Kristofferson) and flamboyant poker-player mother, Marcella (Barbara Hershey). The film is divided into three chapters beginning with “Billy” (set in Paris during the 1960s) in which the expatriate American Willis family adopt six-year-old French orphan Benoit (Samuel Gruen) prompting the young Channe to turn to her protective nanny. Once comfortably settled in the family, Benoit asks that his name be changed to Billy. The second chapter “Francis” revolves around a developing relationship between Channe and Francis Fortescue (Anthony Roth Costanzo) who lives with his expatriate British mother (Jane Birkin). However the relationship is threatened when Channe’s father Bill decides to return to America for health reasons - he is suffering from an ailing heart condition. Finally, chapter three “Daddy”, set in North Carolina during the 1970s, explores the father-daughter relationship as young Billy reaches adulthood and Channe becomes more alienated with life. A close intimacy begins to develop between Channe and her bedridden father as she helps him transcribe tapes and type up his manuscript pages for his new novel. Father and daughter share their dreams and thoughts about boys and sex and life and it is this honest and open approach which eventually holds the family together. Contains some French with English subtitles. Cast also includes Dominique Blanc, Jesse Bradford, Virginie Ledoyen, Luisa Conlon.