Calm at Sea (French: La mer à l'aube) is a 2011 German / French drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff.

[1][2] The film depicts the events leading to the 1941 execution of a group of French communists, including the 17-year-old Guy Môquet, as retaliation for the assassination of a German officer by the French resistance.

Jörg Schöning sums it up in Der Spiegel: “Schlöndorff's film, which is not particularly interested in the more recent questions of humanity, thankfully concentrates on the concrete.

The sea in the morning is the stroke of luck of a documentary game: the people, their actions and words are historically documented, the consequences of their actions are highly dramatic - and still trigger considerable emotions today.”[3] Filmgazette editor Wolfgang Nierlins judged: "Schlöndorff's film shows the fateful course of events, relentlessly aggravated by human arbitrariness and blind coincidence as a tragic event."

He understands Calm at Sea as “a differentiated plea for humanity” and awards 8 out of 10 possible stars.