Emir Gurdal
Firstly I could not feel like watching 40s.It was because of the atmosphere of the movie and actors. For example I did not find the quality of "la vita e bella" or "schindler's list" on this one. Emotions and story chain were not strong and were not made strong by director and actors. Originality was not alive also. By the drama side this movie is not successful. Let's look at it by politic fiction side. I know it is base on a true story but some issues were not taken seriously. "The genocide claim: It is not certain that Turks massacred the Armenians" That was certain in the movie. I think that kind of points damage drama by the side of reality. What I have ranked is the scenario of writers because well written chain of actions and character relations are smooth. Right people and characters even not all are in the right places. Must watch? I do not think so. If you are interested in WWII in France.
bryanmillsfist
The men and women who resisted the Germans in WWII were the living embodiment of Emiliano Zapata's famous words. Some used peaceful means(The White Rose Society), other violence.(Maquis) This movie details the story of those who embraced violence in order to resist the Nazis.What I particularly liked about this movie was its portrayal of the collaboration necessary to crush such movements. The french police was tacitly involved in the suppression of France's resistance movements. Along with the infamous Milice, the french police provided the Gestapo a means to violently smash those who dared fight back. "Army of Crime" does a nice job of showing the underhanded the methods the french police would use to betray their countrymen.People who feel uneasy about the brutal means used by such movements should do two things: A) Understand that war is brutal in every aspect. A soldier's life is no less valuable then a civilians. B)Realize that the only way to effectively deal with the Nazis' was to meet them with the same level of ferocity and ruthlessness that they dealt out to others. Ethics mean nothing if one is not able to live them. Under normal circumstances those in the resistance would not have done what they did, but then these were not normal circumstances.I laud these heroes for dying fighting merciless brutes. It is not glorious to die for one's country, but it is honorable to die to protect what you cherish most.
muaddib-20
How sad to see Mr Guédiguian pandering to the current craze for movies telling the sorry story of Jews in France under the Nazi occupation. Here Mr Guédiguian, who is an outstanding director having produced wonderful movies, like "Marius and Jeannette", tries to join Jews and partisans, including an iconic Armenian (like himself) character, for whom you cannot help feeling a lot of sympathy. However, there are so many strands in this movie that you never get solidly gripped by one of the many, and the plot disintegrates into a cascade of little streams. Also, the stereotypes of cardboard characters (the Paris ghetto Jewish tailor, the gallant Nazi soldier, the refugee Jewish woman and many others) contribute to make this movie essentially a flesh and blood graphic novel, re-visiting old clichés. There is nothing new here and good actors (like Virginie Ledoyen) do not manage to rescue a completely hopeless script. Not a movie I would recommend.
raraavis-2
Another résistance tale, excellent settings, clothes, etc., but a very flat plot that never grips you. That, plus the actual length of the film make it feel eternal. The theoretical "good guys" - the résisrance, are mostly communists, quite a few of them rather sinister. One feels that their ideas are very similar to those of the Nazis they're trying to fight and, frankly, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. And,like so many French films, this one tries to rewrite history. Because, much as the French hate to admit it, most of the population just wanted to survive the war and disliked the résistants, who provoked dangerous German retaliation. Of course, after the war EVERYBODY turned out to have been in the résistance and had behaved heroically. All in all, a disappointing movie. Much better stuff has been filmed about that period of French history.
AD
