The Army of Crime
| The Army of Crime | |
|---|---|
 2009 poster advertising the French release of the film. |
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| Directed by | Robert Guédiguian |
| Produced by | Dominique Barneaud |
| Written by | Robert Guédiguian Serge Le Péron Gilles Taurand |
| Starring | Virginie Ledoyen Simon Abkarian |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Pierre Milon |
| Editing by | Bernard Sasia |
| Distributed by | Studio Canal (FR) Optimum Releasing (UK) |
| Release date(s) | 16 September 2009 |
| Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | €9.2 million |
| Box office | €772,004 |
The Army of Crime (French: L'Armée du crime) is a 2009 French drama-war film directed by Robert Guédiguian and based on a story by Serge Le Péron, one of three credited for the screenplay. It received a wide release in France on September 16, 2009 and opened in the United States in 2010.
The film deals with the events of the Affiche Rouge ("red poster") affair. The title was taken from the caption on a propaganda poster, in which the Nazis sought to present prominent resistance fighters as foreign criminals. The caption read "Liberators? Liberation by the army of crime".
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[edit] Plot
In Paris during the German occupation, an ill-assorted group of resistance fighters commits disorganized attacks. Missak Manouchian, an Armenian exile, is ready to help but is reluctant to kill; for him, being ready to die but not to kill is an ethical matter. However, circumstances lead him to abandon his reluctance. Under his leadership, the group structures and plans its actions and thus the Manouchian network is born. The film traces the story of this group, from its shaping to the execution of its members in 1944.
[edit] Cast
- Virginie Ledoyen as Mélinée Manouchian
- Simon Abkarian as Missak Manouchian
- Robinson Stévenin as Marcel Rayman
- Jean-Pierre Darroussin as Inspecteur Pujol
- Lola Naymark as Monique
- Ariane Ascaride as Madame Elek
- Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet as Thomas Elek
- Yann Trégouët as Le Commissaire David
- Ivan Franek as Feri Boczov
- Olga Legrand as Olga Bancic
- Boris Bergman as Monsieur Rayman
- Patrick Bonnel as Monsieur Elek
- Adrien Jolivet as Henri Krasucki
- Gérard Meylan as Inspecteur Mathelin
- Horaţiu Mălăele as Monsieur Dupont
- Lucas Belvaux as Gilles
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical
It was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2009.[1] The film received largely positive reviews from French critics, with the website AlloCiné awarding it a score of 3.52 out of 5.00 based on twenty-five major reviews.[2] Positif's Jean A. Gili praised the film as "spectacular" while Libération's Didier Péron lamented the fact that the director seemed "paralyzed with respect" towards his subject, praising the young cast for its efforts in making the film seem fresh. In Paris Match, Alain Spira similarly stated that the film suffered from classicism and that emotion had trouble reaching the audience. In Première, Véronique Le Bris criticized the time taken to introduce the various characters. In one of the more negative reviews, Pierre Murat wrote for Télérama that while respectful, the film was insignificant and looked like a TV movie.
The Army of Crime fared well with international critics, with the website Screenrush awarding it a score of four out of five based on six major British reviews.[3] Peter Brunette of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a positive review after seeing the film at Cannes, saying, "Though it drags here and there and is a bit flat in places, the film is solidly made and for the most part quite involving".[4] In The Independent, Anthony Quinn described the film as "sombre and gripping" while Dave Calhoun wrote in Time Out that the film is "always fascinating". In some of the worst reviews, The Sun compared the film to Inglourious Basterds, stating that Tarantino's film was "a lot more fun" and The Financial Times's Nigel Andrews mused that it felt "like every resistance movie you have ever seen".
[edit] Financial
Opening in 250 screens, The Army of Crime debuted at a disappointing number 7 at the French box office, making it the second highest grossing new release of that week following District 9, which debuted at the number one spot with almost twice as many screens.[5] The film grossed just over 772,000 Euros in its first five days of release and has, as of October 20, attracted 349,940 viewers to French theaters.[6]
[edit] Home video
The Army of Crime was released in France on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 19, 2010.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Army of Crime". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10854570/year/2009.html. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "AlloCiné: L'Armée Du Crime". http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=135212.html.
- ^ "Screenrush: Army Of Crime". http://www.screenrush.co.uk/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=135212.html.
- ^ "The Hollywood Reporter film review". http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/film-review-the-army-of-crime-1003973948.story. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Box Office Mojo". http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/france/?yr=2009&wk=38&p=.htm.
- ^ "AlloCiné Box Office". http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-135212/box-office.
- ^ "Blu-Ray.com". http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=116218.
[edit] External links
- Official website (French)
- Official website (English)
- The Army of Crime at the Internet Movie Database
- The Army of Crime at Rotten Tomatoes
- AlloCiné Web Page (French)
- Screenrush.co.uk Web Page
