Army of Shadows (L’armee des ombres)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Written by Jean-Pierre Melville from a novel by Joseph Kesel
1969/France
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
[box] Tagline: Betrayal. Loyalty. Collaboration. Resistance.[/box]
I love Melville and the actors in the great cast. The plot was a tad too convoluted and dialogue-free for this distracted soul during Lockdown.
The setting is WWII France. Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) leads a cell of French Resistance fighters. He is denounced by a collaborator and interned in a concentration camp. His comrades, including the brave, tough Mathilde (Simone Signoret), help him escape from prison. It is now time for reprisals on the collaborator.
A bunch of other stuff happens, leading to the need to take action against a tortured colleague who squealed. Paul Meurisse plays the commandant of another cell.
The story captures the real life experiences of Melville and co-writer Kessel in the resistance during WWII. It has a beautiful score and some great performances. This is not much of a review but it will have to do for now.
For some reason, this movie was not released in the USA until 2006, when a restoration opened to great critical acclaim.
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I also watched Top Hat (1935) which I have previously reviewed on this blog. What a treat! Beautiful art deco sets, elegance, romance, love, snappy banter, Eric Rhodes, Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, and of course Fred and Ginger dancing in such sublime partnership. Back when people weren’t afraid to dance cheek to cheek. Heaven!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxo-TUkzOQ
