Army of Shadows12A

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville | France | 1969 | 2h 25m | French w/ English subtitles | Starring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret, Claude Mann

In 1942, a group of French resistance fighters band together to battle against the Nazis in German-controlled Marseilles. But as the war continues and the grip of the occupying force tightens, loyalty and trust give way to secrecy and suspicion. Drawing on his own experiences as part of the French Resistance in World War II, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterfully tense thriller channels the atmospheric minimalism of his earlier gangster films while honouring the bravery of the resistance fighters.

Classic Season: Vive La Resistance

Reviews

‘Rarely has a film shown so truly that place in the heart where hope lives with fatalism.’
★★★★★
Roger Ebert

‘Melville handles with consummate cinematic mastery the suspenseful set-pieces.’
★★★★★
Tom Dawson, BBC

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We showed Army of Shadows between June 16, 2024 and June 17, 2024.

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