The Army of Crime
A daring band of rebels takes on Nazi forces in Europe in this wartime drama from director Robert Guédiguian. Born in Armenia, Missak Manouchian (Simon Abkarian) had settled in France by the time World War II broke out; a Socialist who stood in fierce opposition to the Axis forces occupying his country, he and a handful of other leftists formed the FTP-MOI, a faction of the French Resistance comprised of immigrants who came to France before the war. Working beside Manouchian was his wife, Mélinée (Virginie Ledoyen), a poet-turned-underground fighter; Marcel (Robinson Stévenin), a Jewish volunteer who is an excellent shot with a rifle; and Thomas (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), a passionate Marxist with a skill for making bombs. Along with several other activists, the FTP-MOI wage a propaganda campaign against the Nazis while targeting selected Axis leaders for execution. But despite their cunning and talent, Manouchian and his partners find it difficult to keep their work a secret, and in time they're found out by a ruthless detective (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) with the Vichy police. L'Armée du Crime (aka The Army of Crime) was based on the true story of a French resistance group dubbed "the Army of Crime" in Vichy propaganda pieces. more..
Director: Robert Guédiguian
Starring: Simon Abkarian, Virginie Ledoyen, Robinson Stévenin, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Was it all for naught? Only weeks after the 23 partisans were arrested (and all but two promptly executed), Paris was liberated. Army of Crime is a passionate act of remembrance.
It shouldn't be missed. This is a fact-based story of the French resistance who had to fight not only the Germans but their own people. The title comes from the term in a propaganda poster that the Germans and occupied French government used to label the fighters as terrorists.
This is a solid, spellbinding drama based closely on real history, which along the way offers a not-so-subtle commentary on the diverse, immigrant-rich society of contemporary France.
Virginie Ledoyen stars as Missak's impossibly lovely, stalwart wife, and a troupe of supporting players give life to the men and women who died not for the miserable France of that moment, but for the vision of what it could be.
Though it drags here and there and is a bit flat in places, the film is solidly made and for the most part quite involving.
Best Music (Meilleure musique)
Étoiles d'Or (2010)
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