Sunday 18 October 2026 16:15
languages : sans paroles locations : Théâtre des Capucins
Credits
synopsis
Introduction to a Classic of the Resistance
Directed in 1969 by Jean-Pierre Melville—himself a former member of the French Resistance—Army of Shadows adapts Joseph Kessel’s novel and questions the heroic imagery associated with the Resistance.
Centred on Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), the film follows a small network—including Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse and Paul Crauchet—as they face waiting, clandestinity and often impossible moral choices. Far from any triumphalism, Melville offers a restrained, detached portrayal of the Resistance, focused on loyalty and sacrifice, underscored by a visual composition reduced to shades of grey and blue.
On its release, the film initially met with a partly negative reception. Ironically, it was perceived as endorsing the traditional “Gaullist” narrative of the Resistance, although General de Gaulle had stepped down from office only a few months earlier. It later came to be recognised as one of cinema’s most nuanced depictions of clandestine resistance.
Preceding the screening, the introduction will examine the film’s representation of the Resistance and place it in both its production context and film history, alongside other films devoted to the Resistance.
Film starts: 19:00
Pour Jean-Pierre Melville, qui était résistant avant de rejoindre Londres, ce film était un morceau de sa mémoire. Le film est grave, non manichéen, anti-spectaculaire. Les personnages y sont dépeints comme des êtres courageux, idéalistes, avec leur ambiguïté, leurs faiblesses. Ni pétarades d’armes à feu ni mots historiques.
Télérama
