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Jean-Pierre Melville is the master of suspense. Every scene here is filled with so much of it, I felt like I was sweating the whole movie. From the opening moment of Gerbier being transported to the prison until the very end, there was never a moment where it didn’t feel like danger was just around the corner. Which is just how these people felt; always scared, always aware that their next step could be their last. Few directors have been able to master that sensation, but Melville does it flawlessly for two and a half hours.

This is a story that turns conventional movie types on it’s head. Every character is unique and none of the characters are what you expect them to be. Our main hero is a schlubby former engineer and the young, handsome hero ends up being the one who falls apart. Melville has always been one to play with perceptions and here he takes a real life story that did the same thing and presents it to his audience. These people were heroes in the most unconventional of ways.

Ultimately the film is about the brutality of war and what even the most morally just of men are capable of when their back is against the wall. The film is a startling exploration of revenge, betrayal, cowardice, bravery and morality. The answers are not what we expect them to be and Melville and his actors surprise at almost every turn. It also doesn’t hurt that, like Melville’s other pictures, the film is absolutely gorgeous to look at (the Blu-Ray transfer is insanely crisp, some scenes look like they were just made yesterday). The picture deals with important issues on what it means to be a good person, or a “hero”, and as a result it makes for Melville’s most emotionally resonant film.

English Title: Army Of Shadows
Original Title: L’armée des ombres
Year: 1969
Country: France, Italy
Language: French, German, English
Genre: Drama, War
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Writers: Joseph Kessel, Jean-Pierre Melville
Cast:
Lino Ventura
Paul Meurisse
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Simone Signoret
Claude Mann
Paul Crauchet
Christian Barbier
Serge Reggiani
Alain Dekok
Alain Libolt
Rating: 9/10

This is the second Melville’s film I have watched, the previous one is The Red Circle (1970), which I give a 7/10, but this one, definitely is one of the best films of all the time.

After two films, no wonder Melville’s grim and composed shots made him the vanguard of his time. The Resistance Vs. Gestapo theme can hardly be more authentic and callous than this one, it daringly exposes the merciless danger which one have to face and swallow as a member of the Resistance, how humanity is gradually lost as any individual is too powerless to change his own fate or someone else’s. The film is a slow-burner, the last 30 minutes is the most thrilling and bewitching part, which hangs by a thread by naturally creating a sheer tension among all the characters. It caught my full intention and felt a strong satisfaction afterwards

I admire the film so much as that I could tell a potential influence of Melville’s work on Johnny To (a great Hong Kong auteur of this generation), who establishes a criterion of manhood among his films (cops, killers, gangsters), which perhaps has been diluted nowadays while the world becomes more colorful and male friendship replaced by ambiguous gay interest.

It is an auteur film, my favorite scenes including the parachute scene, the killing of the traitor and the argument before the final assassination. Apparently actors do not have too much space here to showcase their skills due to their characters’ identities, nevertheless, Simone Signoret is unforgettable in the film (especially the final scene although she didn’t age too well).

In my last article, I mentioned that maybe I should stop watching French films (thanks to the ridiculous Donkey Skin 1970), but Army Of Shadows totally rejuvenates my confidence (it was made in 1969, the same era of Donkey Skin, French people are truly versatile). But I think Melville’s works are a little bit unwieldy for my digestion, I should not be too hasty to finish all his opuses.

dang ! looks like i need to revised my statement that the best decade of cinema is the 70’s. Sure, There’s The Godfather and the so-called A Clockwork Orange. but After all, recent discoveries such as 8 1/2, and now this, makes me confidently says : The 60’s is The Golden Age Of Cinema !!.

Army Of Shadows is just brilliant in every single point. acting, directing, cinematography, music, costume, and everything. The story is revolving around the time in which nazi occupied france. but unlike that Tarantino’s fairy tale, this is straight and simple, a true story. And what an intense and nail biting story it is, from the opening image of the army of Nazi marching on Champ eulises (forgives my horrible spelling ) into the final act. Engaging !

Melville’s compositions are often very good to great, but his films aren’t. Critics hailed this as a great film about the French Resistance. The only problem with that assessment is that Army of Shadows isn’t really about the French Resistance. Unfortunately, the war in Iraq clouded the judgement of some critics. To champion a film more highly than it should be since it may (or may not) parallel some modern day situation that one disagrees with is absurd and neurotic. This is obvious from Amy Taubin’s critique of the film in the booklet that comes with the Criterion version.

Lino Ventura was excellent in his role as Philippe Gerbier. He gives a very nuanced and staunch performance. However, this is a grim reaper of a film. It is at once cynical and fatalistic, about failure and death. There is not one scene where the members of the resistance actually do anything to subvert the Nazis or Vichy France. Conversely, we are shown two scenes where resistance members are killed by other resistance members for giving out names to the Nazis. Another scene suggests one, and possibly two, captured resistance members taking their lives by swallowing cyanide. We see only one Nazi or Vichy member die. Not much of a resistance really, at least as depicted in this film.

Do whatever you must do to get hold of this movie. I’m no spring chick, I’ve watched lots and lots of movies, but I saw this for the first time on HDNet last weekend & I was stunned. So much so that I went out and bought the 2-disc set today. This is a true masterpiece, one of the best ever. This film has been unavailable in US for so long; this is a true opportunity to view a masterwork. I’d kill to have seen this on the big screen.

Fascinating, if uneven, historical thriller from director Jean-Pierre Melville. Excellent cinematography (even if it is a bit too murky at times), period production design, and authentic European locales create and effective, engrossing atmosphere – but it’s often slow-paced and talky, and Melville’s cool, detached style tempers some of the suspense. Still, there are a few undeniably compelling moments. As interesting and memorable as it is, it’s not quite the masterpiece it’s been made out to be.