Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville
1969

While JPM's insider ode to the French Resistance is full of cool spy antics and tense secrecy it feels much more like a funeral dirge, or a reminiscence of a terminally ill loved one.

Lino Ventura plays Gerbier, the head of a tightly knit network of freedom fighters, an underground faction at odds with the Nazi occupation of France. The performances, particularly Ventura's, are above reproach in granting a sense of humanity and quiet determination to this group of plainclothes turned unlikely heroes. Melville revels in picking apart the maddeningly covert lifestyle of the resistance to the point of obsession. This becomes doubly effective in the near nonchalant lensing of the "army's" activities. Indeed, the seemingly documentary like attitude towards such extreme cloak and dagger exploits gives the underground a wildly romantic feel.

What seems most striking about "Army of Shadows" however is the Resistance's utter inability of harry or harass the Germans in any meaningful way. Gerbier's Resistance force seems only capable of two things: existing and getting caught. There are some excellent suspense and action sequences in the film, but nearly all revolve around escaping imprisonment and rescuing imprisoned allies. Uncle Fritz's iron monocle hardly suffers a smudge.

While the shadows may make an army, they are definitely not soldiers, and the portrayals are that of citizens inexperienced at war. While the Nazi's are a one dimensional monster all too capable of atrocious violence, the Resistance lacks that cold military professionalism. This plays out most awkwardly in the underground's difficulty in snuffing out a cherub-faced turncoat, and the usually tough and stern Gerbier is comically humbled in his hesitancy to parachute from an allied British plane. Melville's honest and humane treatment of this group is as touching as it is endearing, and eventually they become very pathetic bunch indeed.

For all its hardy veneer "Army of Shadows" belies a somber sentimentality, albeit a sober one. Its an excellent film that feels like a genuine labor of love, but I wonder what real Resistance fighters would think of it: The men who were bombing German supply trucks and honing hunting rifle crosshairs on grey uniforms.

Review by Brett A. Scieszka