L’Ombre rouge (1981)

L’Ombre rouge is a French thriller film first released in 1981, directed by Jean-Louis Comolli.  The film stars Claude Brasseur, Jacques Dutronc, Nathalie Baye, Andréa Ferréol and Lev Belsky.  It has also been released under the title: The Red Shadow.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


April, 1937.  Anton, a Communist Party member living in France, is involved with trafficking arms to left-wing activists in Spain.  He is captured by the Gestapo but is subsequently released when is friend, Léo, head of a Communist network in Europe, arranges an exchange.  Anton is recruited in the struggle against fascism but ends up being a victim of the Stalinist purge...

L’Ombre rouge offers in insight into the brutal reality of European politics on the eve of World War II, with its flawed idealism, irrational violence and petty betrayals.  Strong acting performances from Claude Brasseur and Jacques Dutronc give the film a hard-edged realism which emphasises the injustice and danger of the period in which the film is set.

This is, however, a very difficult film to watch. Comolli’s experience is in making film documentaries, and this is more than evident in this film, which lacks depth and character development.  Despite a few well-choreographed action scenes,  the film is painfully static, the absence of drama and dynamism rendering a number of scenes unintentionally comical.

© James Travers 2000

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