Has anyone had such an impact on the spy genre as Ian Fleming? Examples of spy fiction may have predated his transition from naval officer to writer by more than a century, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the British Secret Service’s best asset, James Bond, that it became a cultural phenomenon (a feeling heightened by the character’s legendary reimagining as one of cinema’s greatest icons of 1962 -s. Doctor No Further). The success of the 007 franchise was a game-changer for the genre, setting a framework that every release since has either intentionally copied or purposefully avoided. Seventy years later, the formula has not lost its appeal… but it has contributed to a false notion of what it really means to be a spy. Of course, Ian Fleming knew exactly what he was doing when he put entertainment on a higher pedestal than realism, but it should be obvious that life in the Secret Service isn’t burdened by gunfights and car chases. Being a spy isn’t glamorous - it’s pretty mundane, anyway - but it can also be a lonely and daunting profession, where countless lives are lost due to insignificant results. It is this feeling that lies at the heart of the 1969 masterpiece, army of shadows.
“Army of Shadows” tells about the French resistance fighters during the Second World War
Based Joseph Kessel1943 book of the same name army of shadows follows a small group of French Resistance, especially those associated with Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), a former civil engineer who now leads a resistance cell based in Lyon during the occupation of the country by Nazi Germany. As the film begins, Gerbier is already being arrested on suspicion of espionage. There is no evidence to support their doubts, but doubt is all they need. He is soon imprisoned in an internment camp along with anyone who could potentially cause trouble, but they will have to do better if they are to break Gerbier’s spirit. He understands his mission. His work is not easy, but it is vital that his country does not remain forever under the yoke of tyranny. But there is another aspect of Gerbier that his captors have overlooked—perhaps the most important of all. He may be an idealist, but he is also a realist. Gerbier knows that his life does not matter. All that matters is the reason, and if he has to die to make that dream come true, then so be it. It’s a sad image, but it’s work.
The rest of the film continues down this dark path. After escaping from the Gestapo during an attempted interrogation, Gerbier undauntedly resumes his duties. First order? The murder of a colleague who betrayed him. This is not an act of petty revenge, but the inevitable tragedy that Gerbier and his fellow conspirator Félix Leperc (Paul Crusher) are performed with a frightening level of banality. They intend to shoot him, but the arrival of the next door neighbors changes the plan. “There is a towel in the kitchen,” Gerbier reminds his colleagues, a phrase uttered without a trace of emotion. The murder itself takes place without much ceremony, after which Gerbier and Leperc leave as if nothing had happened. They may be good people, but they’re not afraid to do bad things - a philosophy that encapsulates the next two hours. Death will come for them all, but that is no reason not to do your part. Welcome to the resistance, comrade. Leave your heroism at the door.
So, army of shadows not exactly suitable for an inspiring discussion, but we must consider ourselves lucky that it is available for discussion at all. When the film was released in September 1969 Cahiers du Cinema - cinema’s most respected publication - launched a full frontal attack on the film because of its alleged support of Charles de Gaulle, a key figure in the fight against Nazi Germany, who has since been elected president of France (and, most importantly, is now despised by the worker population due to the fact that he led the demonstrations on May 68). In addition, the controversial events of the war in Algeria tainted the heroic portrayal of the resistance campaigns, further hurting the film. The reaction was so terrible that American distributors (who were of the opinion Cahiers du Cinema by analogy with the biblical scripture) decided not to publish it, which led army of shadows remained largely unnoticed until its reappraisal in the mid-1990s. International audiences had to wait until 2006 - a whopping thirty-seven years after its original release - before they could see it in theaters, where it received unanimously positive reviews. It has since become a staple on “greatest movies of all time” lists, and one might wonder if its time in the wilderness contributed to this stunning twist.
Director Jean-Pierre Melville avoids Hollywood spy stereotypes
If the previous descriptions piqued your interest, it is worth noting that army of shadows not for all. director Jean Pierre Melville - who took the pseudonym Melville while serving in the French Resistance in honor of his favorite American writer, Herman Melville – not interested in presenting a romanticized view of espionage. Instead, it cuts straight to the cold hard truth, resulting in a film that feels more like a documentary than high-octane escapism. army of shadows may be set against the backdrop of the most photographed and referenced war in entertainment history, but this is absolutely not a war film. It’s a film about people - specifically, desperate people who are forced to do heinous acts in the name of a virtue that they and everyone else used to take for granted. It’s not the war itself that Melville cares about, but the consequences that the war says it has on the average citizen, allowing him to turn a potentially derivative story into a subversive masterpiece that eschews the usual “good versus evil” scheme.
The most amazing part army of shadows that’s how little Gerbier and his associates achieve. The Resistance spends most of its time “fixing” its own problems, either killing suspected traitors or staging grandiose attempts to rescue those who have been captured - the latter spawning a string of pseudo-looting that sees army of shadows flirting with more typical espionage antics. The Gestapo detained Leperc, but Matilda (Simone Signoret) - a housewife who, unbeknownst to her family, moonlights with the French Resistance - is developing a plan to save him. Along with two accomplices and several illegally acquired uniforms, she tricks them into their headquarters disguised as a nurse in order to transfer Leperc to a local hospital. It’s a classic Bond ploy, complete with sharp-eyed guards and last-minute mishaps that cause Matilda to quickly change her plan on the fly so as not to ruin her disguise. Add to that the well-timed detonation of the well-placed bomb that Matilda planted earlier, and it’s no different from the 1995 film’s great bombastic opening. golden eye.
But Melville resists such temptations. Instead, the sequence reaches a disappointing climax when Matilda The prison doctor advises that Leperc is too unsuitable for travelling, so her reliable plan remains on the leash. The lesser director would have taken this opportunity to roll out “Plan B” (known as the “all guns blazing” script code), but army of shadows not that movie. This film is made by someone who has experienced this work first hand, and he knows exactly how deadly (and demoralizing) it is. Matilda could protest, but that would risk countless lives when there is only one on the cards at the moment. And now - to the anger of all those watching - she leaves, dooming Leperc to death. Rarely does a film dare to show how its protagonists fail so disastrously in achieving their goals, but in army of shadows, such things are part and parcel of their reality. What’s done is done, and an unwavering commitment to your goal is the best way to pay homage to Leperc. It’s a cruel fate, but for the characters who gave up their chance at a happy retirement the day they agreed to do so, they all know they’ll have to face it in the end.
‘Army of Shadows’ avoids overblown plots
army of shadows is a cold film, and a lot of it comes from Melville’s low-key directing. Melville understands that his film is powerful enough to speak for itself and that any attempt to highlight its impact will backfire. Thus, Melville remains in his role as a dispassionate observer, framing the narrative with such elegance that you don’t even realize he was there. The camera work is precise but unobtrusive, the editing is tight but discreet. Music is a rare occurrence, but the few times it is used are organically woven into the existing footage. army of shadows it’s a movie of subtle movements and unspoken words, a thought that reaches its climax during a particularly tense scene where Gerbier hides in a barbershop to evade the pursuing Germans. He plans to leave as soon as they pass, but when the owner shows up, he pretends to want a shave to avert suspicion. This encounter is fraught with anxiety as both men try to decipher each other while maintaining a semblance of normality, and Melville makes us watch every moment. In the end, the owner does nothing but hand Gerbier a coat of a different color, a very simple gesture that makes a huge difference.
army of shadows this is a movie that revels in ambiguity. Our characters - the titular army of shadows - are not heroes. Reframe the narrative around the petrified traitor from the beginning of the film and you’ll have a very different take on Gerbier, but even then it’s hard to call him an outright villain. He’s not good, and he’s not evil, he’s just… Gerbier, a man in a difficult situation and doing his best to fix it. Even in a war as justified as World War II, the concept of heroes and villains is preposterous, and Melville’s exploration of this moral ambiguity makes army of shadows irresistible. It’s a genre picture with all the embellishments, resulting in a unique depiction of a spy job that, while not as overtly gripping as its Hollywood counterparts, still has all the ingredients you’d expect from a movie like this, albeit from a more down-to-earth perspective. . this is reminiscent of the lifestyle of a person who has experience in counterintelligence. If James Bond is a fantasy army of shadows the bitter reality doesn’t make it funny, but since when has that been a requirement for a movie?
Source: Collider
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