Film Review
For all its stylistic bravado and sporadic bursts of ultra-violence,
Les Femmes de l'ombre is
essentially an old-fashioned war movie whose main raison d'être
is to entertain rather than inform. To its credit, the film does
draw on real-life events (albeit very tangentially) and reminds us of
the not inconsiderable part played by women in the fight against
Fascism during the Second World War. As an action thriller it has
much to commend it. The action scenes are directed with flair and
convey a grimly visceral, adrenalin pumping sense of the heat of
battle. The attention to period detail is equally hard to fault
and enthusiasts of classic war films will doubtless appreciate the
ample references to the best American films of the genre. If
nothing else, the film shows that the French are just as capable of
making a feisty, overblown war film as the dream merchants in Hollywood.
The attention grabbing cast-line up includes a posse of highly
photogenic and talented actresses (Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu,
Marie Gillain and Déborah François), all doing their
damnedest to out-Schwarzenegger Schwarzenegger in the vivid action
scenes. Whilst the film has its good points, it doesn't quite
make the grade. It's entertaining enough as a gutsy, mildly
O.T.T. war film, but if you are looking for a serious wartime drama
with well-drawn characters and real emotional impact you will probably
have to look elsewhere. Jean-Paul Salomé's
mise-en-scène is far more focussed and restrained than on his
previous action extravaganzas -
Belphégor, Le fantôme du
Louvre (2001) and
Arsène Lupin (2004) -
although the director's tendency to over-egg the pudding with
exaggerated stylisation (including slow-motion and fades to monochrome)
does get in the way of the drama and reduces the film to the level of
an adolescent comic-book romp in places.
Given that
Les Femmes de l'ombre is
such an obvious rip-off of Ken Follett's novel
Jackdaws it is surprising that
Follett was not given an on-screen credit. Another
hard-to-overlook influence is Robert Aldrich's essential wartime
classic
The Dirty Dozen (1967) - the
fact that one of the female combatants is a convicted murderer awaiting
execution has been widely criticised as it diminishes the selfless
heroism of those who fought in the French Resistance. Generally,
the characterisation is weak, undermined by some risible
dialogue. A case in point is the Nazis, who are reduced to their
familiar screen stereotypes, although Moritz Bleibtreu manages to turn
in a convincing and enigmatic performance as the coolly sadistic German
officer Heindrich - he is easily the best thing about the film.
Generally, the quality of the acting is far less impressive than you
might expect, given the pedigree of the cast, although this has more to
do with the lacklustre screenwriting than the ability of the
actors. Julien Boisselier is a surprising (indeed daring) choice
for the role of the resistance leader Desfontaines, an interesting
example of casting against type that not only serves to humanise an
unsympathetic character but also to make the female protagonists appear
far stronger, physically and emotionally. Sophie Marceau is an
effective casting choice for the implacable resistance heroine,
although her portrayal is again undermined by the inadequacies of a
script that is far more concerned with making a bold visual statement
than offering a convincing and moving account of wartime heroism.
Les Femmes de l'ombre isn't
entirely satisfying but, by dint of its punchy mise-en-scène and
charismatic performances, it manages to be a stylish and compelling
modern war film - a long overdue reappraisal of the crucial role that
women played in WWII.
© James Travers 2012
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Next Jean-Paul Salomé film:
The Chameleon (2010)
Film Synopsis
France, on the eve of the allied invasion during WWII. When her husband is killed whilst mounting
an ambush against the Nazis, resistance member Louise leaves France and
heads for Britain. Here she meets up with her brother, Pierre,
who persuades her to join a secret service unit charged with
intelligence gathering and sabotage missions. Her task is to
recruit a commando team of young women for a special mission, which
involves rescuing a British agent from a German
hospital...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.