In 1999, Barbara Hammer spent an artist’s residency in the French fishing village of Cassis, intending to capture the splendor of the Mediterranean light and landscape. When the war in Kosovo broke out, however, her focus shifted dramatically. The result is this film in which Hammer juxtaposes the stories of four French Resistance fighters with the lives of artists Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse, who despite the Nazi occupation continued to paint landscapes, portraits, and still lifes in the flattering light of the French Riviera. The film poses the questions: What are our responsibilities during political crises? How can art exist during a time of war?