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THE ARMY OF CRIME - MOVIE REVIEW
By Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics.com
Sept 10 2010
A young and talented cast put energy into this timeless story of the
citizen warriors of occupied France.
The very first days of the French resistance in WWII were a time of
fear, confusion and courage. The blitzkrieg had just laid waste to the
French government and, for the most part, to the French will to survive
and resist. As it turns out the first persons to realize the need to
resist in spite of the overwhelming danger were not native citizens.
The first to resist were relatively recent immigrants and
second-generation French citizens from Poland, Armenia, Spain, Italy
and other countries. Perhaps it was because they were more used
to harsh lives and more ready to live under the constant danger of
exposure, imprisonment and death.
Maybe they had contacts in their home countries and had already
suffered atrocities in their families at the hand of the fascists. On
the other hand, perhaps they appreciated the gift of French citizenship
more than the established population.
Whatever the reason, they saw the need to resist and acted quickly.
Their enemies were French collaborators as well as uniformed German
military. As in 2008's blockbuster WWII resistance film, "Flame and
Citron" at times they were their own worst enemies.
Not only was death their constant companion but chaos, lies and false
communications dogged them constantly. For years after the end of
the war they would live with the guilt and recriminations of possibly
having killed the wrong person.
Veteran Armenian actor Simon Abkarian plays poet turned assassin
Missak Manouchian. Abkarian has some fifty films under his belt and
was born in France of Armenian descent. So he knew a thing or two
about his role from the starting gate. Virginie Ledoyen plays his
wife Melinee. Ledoyen won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2002, appearing
with legends Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert in "8 Women."
She is thrice nominated for the Cesar for Most Promising Actress for
her work in "A Single Girl," "L'eau froide," and "Les marmottes."
Four of the supporting actors, Robinson Stevenin, Gregoire
Leprince-Ringuet, Lola Naymark and Ariane Ascaride claim a total
of seven Cesar wins and nominations among them, mostly for Most
Promising. Director Robert Guediguian claims the same plus awards
across Europe and the world.
This film embodies the energy and youthful dedication that only comes
with the heartfelt performances of young and talented performers. The
actors themselves are as full of hope and dreams as the altruistic
characters they play in the film. It is a wonderful cast and a great
action story.
When Manouchian comes to understand he must confront the Nazis, the
first thing he has to do is learn to shoot a pistol. This is a true
citizen soldier. He proceeds to perform a variety of daring-do exploits
such as rolling a hand grenade in the midst of a formation of passing
Nazi soldiers. Nothing fancy here, but the effect is significant.
The problem comes when the group is faced with planting explosives
at social events that involve French civilians as well as German
soldiers. When does one draw the line? There is no Geneva Convention
for resistance fighters; they would be labeled terrorists in any
other context.
As the group gets more successful they draw more attention from
the German high command and the result is swift and inevitable. The
Germans threaten to kill ten French citizens for every soldier killed
by the resistance.
As altruistic as the fighter might be, in any war the first and last
casualties are innocent bystanders. Of course, in war there may not
be any such thing as innocent bystanders, in any event. Collaborators
are the enemy, but are the citizens of the Vichy French nation that
much different?
Great costumes and cinematography that take the viewer right into
the depths of the Nazi cabarets, dark alleys and closet propaganda
printing rooms of 1940's France. Although this film may appeal more to
war and history buffs than to the general audience it is entertaining
throughout its entire 139 minute running time.
Visit the movie database for more information.
Directed by: Robert Guediguian Written by: Serge Le Peron and Gilles
Taurand Starring: Simon Abkarian and Virginie Ledoyen Release: August
20, 2010 MPAA: Not Rated Runtime: 139 minutes Country: France Language:
French / German Color: Color
From: A. Papazian
By Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics.com
Sept 10 2010
A young and talented cast put energy into this timeless story of the
citizen warriors of occupied France.
The very first days of the French resistance in WWII were a time of
fear, confusion and courage. The blitzkrieg had just laid waste to the
French government and, for the most part, to the French will to survive
and resist. As it turns out the first persons to realize the need to
resist in spite of the overwhelming danger were not native citizens.
The first to resist were relatively recent immigrants and
second-generation French citizens from Poland, Armenia, Spain, Italy
and other countries. Perhaps it was because they were more used
to harsh lives and more ready to live under the constant danger of
exposure, imprisonment and death.
Maybe they had contacts in their home countries and had already
suffered atrocities in their families at the hand of the fascists. On
the other hand, perhaps they appreciated the gift of French citizenship
more than the established population.
Whatever the reason, they saw the need to resist and acted quickly.
Their enemies were French collaborators as well as uniformed German
military. As in 2008's blockbuster WWII resistance film, "Flame and
Citron" at times they were their own worst enemies.
Not only was death their constant companion but chaos, lies and false
communications dogged them constantly. For years after the end of
the war they would live with the guilt and recriminations of possibly
having killed the wrong person.
Veteran Armenian actor Simon Abkarian plays poet turned assassin
Missak Manouchian. Abkarian has some fifty films under his belt and
was born in France of Armenian descent. So he knew a thing or two
about his role from the starting gate. Virginie Ledoyen plays his
wife Melinee. Ledoyen won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2002, appearing
with legends Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert in "8 Women."
She is thrice nominated for the Cesar for Most Promising Actress for
her work in "A Single Girl," "L'eau froide," and "Les marmottes."
Four of the supporting actors, Robinson Stevenin, Gregoire
Leprince-Ringuet, Lola Naymark and Ariane Ascaride claim a total
of seven Cesar wins and nominations among them, mostly for Most
Promising. Director Robert Guediguian claims the same plus awards
across Europe and the world.
This film embodies the energy and youthful dedication that only comes
with the heartfelt performances of young and talented performers. The
actors themselves are as full of hope and dreams as the altruistic
characters they play in the film. It is a wonderful cast and a great
action story.
When Manouchian comes to understand he must confront the Nazis, the
first thing he has to do is learn to shoot a pistol. This is a true
citizen soldier. He proceeds to perform a variety of daring-do exploits
such as rolling a hand grenade in the midst of a formation of passing
Nazi soldiers. Nothing fancy here, but the effect is significant.
The problem comes when the group is faced with planting explosives
at social events that involve French civilians as well as German
soldiers. When does one draw the line? There is no Geneva Convention
for resistance fighters; they would be labeled terrorists in any
other context.
As the group gets more successful they draw more attention from
the German high command and the result is swift and inevitable. The
Germans threaten to kill ten French citizens for every soldier killed
by the resistance.
As altruistic as the fighter might be, in any war the first and last
casualties are innocent bystanders. Of course, in war there may not
be any such thing as innocent bystanders, in any event. Collaborators
are the enemy, but are the citizens of the Vichy French nation that
much different?
Great costumes and cinematography that take the viewer right into
the depths of the Nazi cabarets, dark alleys and closet propaganda
printing rooms of 1940's France. Although this film may appeal more to
war and history buffs than to the general audience it is entertaining
throughout its entire 139 minute running time.
Visit the movie database for more information.
Directed by: Robert Guediguian Written by: Serge Le Peron and Gilles
Taurand Starring: Simon Abkarian and Virginie Ledoyen Release: August
20, 2010 MPAA: Not Rated Runtime: 139 minutes Country: France Language:
French / German Color: Color
From: A. Papazian