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 In cinemas now (MA)
Director: Jean-Paul Salome
Runtime: 120mins
French director Jean-Paul Salome has created an honest and powerful film that honours the many women who fought in the resistance alongside the men.
In May 1944 a daring and dangerous mission was to be carried out to protect the secret of the D-Day landings and eliminate Colonel Heidrich (Moritz Bleibtreu), the head of the German counter-intelligence. Based on true events, director Jean Paul Salome was inspired to make a film about the female resistance fighters who trained in England before being parachuted into occupied France.
Sophie Marceau plays Louise, a French Resistance fighter who sees her husband shot by the Nazis before fleeing back to London. She joins the SOE, lead by her estranged brother Pierre (Julien Boisselier), who has redeemed his past sins with other successful undercover missions, including surviving torture. Louise and Pierre have to form an all-female commando unit to rescue a British agent disguised as a German geologist who is recovering in hospital.
The brother and sister team have to find their four other women by any means and Louise has to lie, blackmail or offer pardons to get their involvement. The team who is finally chosen includes; Suze (Marie Gillain) an ex-showgirl working under an assumed name and who had a secret relationship with the German Colonel, Gaelle (Déborah François) a young explosives expert with a strong religious faith and Jeanne (Julie Depardieu) a prostitute in prison for murdering her pimp. The fifth member is Maria (Maya Sansa), a Jewish Italian radio operator already installed at the hospital as a nurse.
The mission is not for the faint hearted. Using all tools on hand, including strip tease, sniper fire, stabbings and bombs, the all-female team and Pierre manage to pull off the first half of the mission. The second half of the mission is to kill Colonel Heindrich, which the characters discover is not as simple as they thought.
The film is a terrific homage to the efforts of women during the resistance in World War II and also reveals believable characters. The performances are outstanding in the film by everyone – however, the two standouts for me were Sophie Marceau and German actor Moritz Bleibtreu. Les Femmes de l’ombre is an enjoyable period drama with some tense nail biting moments – it is definitely well worth the watch.
****
GEMMA MUMFORD
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