Army of Shadows: (1969)

It is amazing to think that a movie as fantastic as Army of Shadows could possibly go unreleased in the United States for almost forty years but that's exactly what happened. The film was critically shunned upon release in France due to it's (falsely) perceived celebration of Charles de Gaulle. That critical shunning led to American art-house theaters not bothering to show it. Thankfully it underwent a critical re-evaluation on the mid-90's and finally found it's way to U.S. theaters in 2006.

Army of Shadows is a story about members of the French Resistance during World War II. The characters struggle with the tough decisions they have to make, while simultaneously being in constant fear for their lives at the hands of German soldiers.

Army of Shadows is a dark look at ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The characters in Army of Shadows act valiantly and are meant to be admired but the film takes a very unromantic look at the resistance in general. There are no beautiful hero's to come save the day, just a bunch of normal people who know what they must do. These people are afraid to die but also willing to do so for the greater good. Mortality is a giant theme in Army of Shadows, the specter of death is looming around every corner. In Nazi occupied France, it's not a matter of if you will die, it's a matter of when. While that description may make Army of Shadows sound like a drag, it most certainly is not. There's a genuine sense of urgency and tension that keeps the film moving along very quickly. Army of Shadows may run for almost two and half hours but it feels like much, much less than that.

Writer/director Jean-Pierre Melville (who's other films I haven't seen but will have to in the very near future) brings a staunch realism to Army of Shadows. Aside from the sometimes painfully realistic lengths the characters must go through, Melville infuses the picture with an overbearing color scheme that sets the mood and tone of the film perfectly. That color scheme is very important to the overall feel of Army of Shadows. The film is a hauntingly beautiful portrayal of war torn Europe. The full range of dark blues, gray's and black's on display come close to overpowering the viewer in despair but never quite do so.

Although it's far from happy, Army of Shadows is one of the best films I have seen in a quite a while. The characters are fully formed and very intriguing, Melville's direction is superb and the story itself is fascinating. The fact that this film had to wait nearly forty years to be released in the U.S. is a travesty. If I would have known what I was missing I would have watched it a long time ago.

Rating: 5