Many jokes have been made at the expense of the French and their perceived wussiness in World War II. But director Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows provides behavior evidence to the contrary. Released in France in 1969 but not in the U.S. until 2006, this film offers a harrowing look into the lives of men and women who spent this period in world history walking on eggshells, immersing themselves in a dangerous world of freedom fighting. 

Drawing from real-life experiences, Melville's story   focuses on members of the French Resistance, a group working in secret to survive Hitler's rule. The film begins as civil engineer Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), a fairly prominent Resistance figure, is brought to an internment camp. Soon after his imprisonment, Gerbier escapes the clutches of the Gestapo and makes his way back to his colleagues, resuming his efforts to try and deal whatever blows he can against the Third Reich. The viewer begins to see  there's little room for emotion in the life of a Resistance member, as Gerbier's tasks entail executing traitors and sending his men on highly dangerous missions, from escorting a Resistance leader to a submarine escape to smuggling important equipment through security checkpoints. Gerbier and his colleagues lead a life with no room for slip-ups, where the slightest mistake can result in a blown cover causing everyone's efforts to come crashing to the ground.

Army of Shadows is far removed from action-packed spy thrillers in the James Bond vein. It's more like The Good Shepherd in the way it sets out to convey the almost painfully slow, extremely delicate, and (unfortunately) scarcely rewarding natures of the clandestine operations. And, like Robert De Niro's CIA saga, this film is also a chore to watch. Not exactly the most active film on the block, Army of Shadows often straddles the line between suspensefully depicting the tightrope act the characters are perpetually walking and not having them do anything.

Also, even though Melville does an astounding job of giving his picture a realistic "you are there" vibe, he detracts from it by going overboard on a number of uneventful sequences. What could have been tightened up with smart editing or even effective narration occasionally becomes prolonged past the point of effectiveness. The narrative is a little screwy as well, occasionally shifting from focusing on Gerbier (played with compelling subtlety by Ventura) to randomly following an operative or two who get their own narration before being abandoned at the drop of a hat. Although Melville succeeds in drawing out an  absorbing performance from Ventura, his attempts to expand the story into a multi-character epic aren't as successful.

Still, Army of Shadows boasts many moments of quiet intensity, where the lack of action is crisp and engaging, truly coaxing viewers onto the edge of their seats in anticipation (Gerbier's escape early in the film is a great example of such a scene). Melville creates a harrowing atmosphere of hopelessness, of the characters engaging in heroics which have a good chance of backfiring.  He vividly conveys what a gamble it was to exist at the time depicted, thus presenting not so much a "story" but rather an exploration of the feelings, moods, and culture of the setting. Those in search of a hip-happenin' movie with something going on every five seconds will be left out to dry, but anyone yearning for a more realistic and, in some ways, more engaging antithesis to Thunderball may be richly rewarded.

Despite its seemingly bare-bones premise and a number of explanatory themes, Army of Shadows is a fairly heavy nut to crack. It's definitely not the type of film one can pick up and watch on a whim, and its slow, deliberate approach will probably enrage some while dazzling others. For me, Melville's alluringly gloomy atmosphere tipped the scales in his favor.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by The Criterion Collection; not rated by MPAA.)

Review also posted at www.passportcinema.com.