Earth and Blood (2020), originally titled La Terre et le Sang, is a French action-thriller directed by Julien Leclercq. The film centers on Saïd, a former criminal who has turned his life around and now runs a small sawmill deep in the forest. Determined to live a quiet, honest life, Saïd is focused on raising his teenage daughter, Sarah, and keeping his past firmly behind him.

Saïd’s fragile peace is shattered when one of his employees steals a large quantity of cocaine from a violent drug cartel. Injured and desperate, the man seeks refuge at the sawmill, unknowingly bringing the cartel straight to Saïd’s doorstep. When the criminals arrive, they are relentless, armed, and willing to kill anyone in their way to recover what was taken from them.

Trapped in the isolated mill with no easy way out, Saïd is forced to confront the life he thought he had escaped. As the cartel closes in, the sawmill becomes a battleground. Using his knowledge of the terrain and the machinery around him, Saïd turns the environment into his advantage, setting traps and fighting back with brutal efficiency. The tension builds as the conflict escalates into a deadly game of survival.

At the heart of the film is Saïd’s relationship with Sarah. She witnesses the violence and the side of her father he tried to hide, forcing her to confront who he truly is. Saïd’s struggle is not only against the cartel, but also against his own past, as he tries to protect his daughter while reconciling with the man he used to be.

The film is driven by raw, grounded action rather than spectacle. The confined setting of the sawmill adds to the intensity, making every confrontation feel immediate and dangerous. Unlike typical action films, Earth and Blood focuses heavily on atmosphere, using darkness, silence, and the surrounding forest to heighten the sense of isolation and threat.

In its climax, Saïd faces a final, brutal showdown, where survival comes at a heavy cost. The film does not shy away from the consequences of violence, emphasizing that redemption is never simple or clean. Saïd’s choices ultimately define whether he can truly leave his past behind or if it will always come back to claim him.

Earth and Blood (2020) delivers a tense and gritty story about survival, fatherhood, and the inescapable nature of one’s past, blending emotional weight with relentless action in a tightly contained setting.