Reviewed by Adam Boult
Stars Virginie Ledoyen, Simon Abkarian, Robinson Stevenin,
Yann Tregouet, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, | Written by Serge Le Péron & Gilles Taurand
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 139 minutes | Directed by Robert Guediguian
The Army of Crime was the name given by the Nazis to a Parisian resistance group which carried out a number of daring attacks against the occupying German forces in the early 1940s before many of it’s members were captured and executed in 1943. Comprised predominantly of non-French, communist and Jewish partisans, after their deaths they were portrayed as anti-French terrorists in a Nazi propaganda effort to quell support for the resistance.
In the film’s opening scene we see the fighters on their way to execution, setting a sombre tone that continues throughout. In flashback we’re introduced to the group’s leader, charismatic Armenian exile Missak Manouchian (Abkarian), a poet who is, we learn, unwilling to kill for his beliefs, until the tide of events forces him to abandon his principals. He unites an assortment of younger activists, and leads them to greater and more destructive guerilla strikes against the German army. Meanwhile, a low level police inspector begins to investigate the group, employing underhand, exploitative and subtley cruel techniques to track them down, ultimately with an eye to improving his standing within the police force and his reputation with the Nazis.
Director Guédiguian.clearly has a great deal of admiration for his partisan subjects, particularly Manouchian, who, in a letter written hours before his execution, stated: “I die with no hatred of the German people.” However, their activities are not romanticised. Both the resistance fighters and the French police pursuing them are portrayed as being equally cold and uncompromising in their violent methods, although the collaborators are particularly vicious, and some scenes of torture carried out by the police are a gruelling watch. While fairly intense and heavy going for much of it‘s run time, the film does feature some occasional flashes warmth and humour; these are always behind closed doors, amongst the conspirators and their loved ones and out of sight of the Nazi’s and their domestic proxy, emphasising the dehumanising nature of life lived under occupation.
This is an interesting story well told. Always engaging, at times exciting, but ultimately, inevitably tragic, it stands as a worthy tribute to the men and women who paid the ultimate price for their adopted country.
EXTRAS *** An interview with director Guédiguian; Army of Crime at Cannes 2009; the trailer; Meeting Virginie Ledoyen & Simon Abkarian Rendez-vous with Guédiguian & Ariane Ascaride (French communist party meeting); the French trailer; Meeting a survivor: Henri Karayan.