army of shadows

L' Armee des Ombres (Army of Shadows) is actually one of the first times the title of a film really helped to illuminate what I was seeing on screen. It isn't just a tip-off to Melville's story of the French Resistance, but another filter by which to understand the power of this film. All of the characters are shadows; they are ghosts. Melville strips them of all emotion and personal attachment and shows how terrifying the results of war can be, not on a nation, but on an individual.

The bleakness of the story and the stoic nature of the characters would be enough to bury a film if it didn't have a master's touch. The men and women in the army of shadows are functioning as people who are emotionally dead, yet Melville keeps their souls alive, giving their bodies the deadpan humor of mundane action in order to show how impossible it is to escape being human, even under extreme duress. The scene in which Gerbier parachutes back into France is a perfect example: Gerbier is one of the masterminds of the French resistance, a man who has removed all emotional connection to people. He appears deathly stoic through much of the film and yet he jumps from a plane with bandages stuck all over his face to keep his glasses on. For a split second the audience giggles at this shadow of Inspector Clouseau and are then returned to the grim reality of occupied France but now with reassurance that the main character is still agonizingly human, despite what circumstances have driven him to. Minus the humor, the firing squad scene also strips away the illusion of the character's emotional mastery but would seem implausible and out of character had we not had these earlier deadpan moments.

To say that this movie is great is an understatement, but perhaps that is ok for a such a formally understated film. After being riveted and terrified by Children of Men, I didn't expect to see another film so soon that had the same effect on me, particular one that is the stylistic antithesis. Roger Ebert summed up the lasting power of this film in one sentence: "Yes, there are moments of excitement, but they hinge on decisions, not actions." Therein lies the difference between a film by a showman and a film by an artist.

Melville was the latter.



Post-script: Jessica and I went to see Army of Shadows during some work travel over in the Twin Cities. Although the number of repertory titles showing at Oak Street Cinema is a mere fraction of what it once was, it was nice to see that the place is still open at all. It used to be my favorite of all favorite haunts. Army of Shadows has had a really big year, being named one of the great films of 2006. It's hard to believe it took almost 40 years for it to be shown theatrically in the U.S., but I suppose all the screens were being appropriated by another shitty Star Wars film. Thankfully there are still venues like Oak Street and The Music Box that allow us to see great cinema in a contextually appropriate venue. By all means, please support them for it.