Army in the shadows (Armée des ombres, L')

Army in the shadows is one of director Jean Pierre Melville's later work. It was released in the UK in 1978.

Melville was famous for his icy cool pictures about gangsters, but this passion project set Melville on a different path. Army in the shadows is about a group of French resistance fighters during the period where Nazi's occupied France. The main lead is Lino Ventura playing Philippe Gerbier, the ringleader. We first meet him as a prisoner in a camp, full of dissidents and potential troublemakers. The camp contains numerous different nationalities and races, all joined together their oppression. One of the chilling aspects of the camp (and later in the film) is the French guards and police submitting to the Nazi's forces. Melville shows the paranoiac nature of the country at that time.

Once escaped, Gerbier meets up with a band of resistance fighters. The film follows a fairly episodic format as the group embark on a series of dangerous tasks. Melville's direction is consistently cold and clinical. Every performance is low key and stern, applying the correct tone for the seriousness of the subject. The dialogue is short and snappy, never a word spoken in luxury. In previous Melville films this style could seem a bit style over substance, but here it compliments the content perfectly.

There are some ugly moments, including an uncomfortably blunt execution and treachery is rife. The film is surprisingly moving in it's depiction of the resistance's struggle; the almost family like bonds and the inevitable tragedies that ensue. Stylistically, the film is typically muted in it's colour, and the slow, careful pace is complimented by smooth camera movements and pans. It's a mature, sophisticated piece of work.

8/10