This film had several good points: It showed the tense but complacent life of Jews in Paris during the occupation. "He'll be eliminated." "You don't know that for sure." It showed the complicity of the French administration doing the Nazi's dirty deeds. But we've seen that before.It gave pause to wonder whether these resistance fighters were actually achieving anything of significance or risking their lives to pop off a few Nazi soldiers for no great tactical advantage.It offered the viewer titillating glimpses of two beautiful actresses, Virginie Ledoyen and Lola Naymark.But on the whole, the movie was dull. The characters were flat. There was little development in the plot: rather, a series of adventures culminating in predictable misadventure. It dragged on from one scene to the next without engaging. Six out of ten.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The movie is very well made. The lighting and cinematography is impeccable. The scenes are constructed beautifully. The casting was brilliant. The actors did a very good job. The direction was good. Robinson Stévenin and Gregoire LePrice-Ringuet were fantastic. Virginie Ledoyen is also maturing into a great leading lady.Aside from the technical brilliance of the film in its fine classic film making, the movie is about heroic men and women who risked their lives for their country even though many of the characters were immigrants. These men and women loved France and died for their rights as well as for the rights of their families and fellow citizens. There were some controversies surrounding this film due to possible historical inaccuracies, yet, I found this movie objective in its portrayal of the characters. There are no long drawn melodramas here but just characters who are compelled to fight for their freedom and the rights of others. I highly recommend this film.

A disappointing film in many ways. For instance,the persecution of the Jewish community is addressed, but in a way that does not makes us feel the true horror of it. It is presented as a political event that the characters in the film view more or less as a matter of fact.Similarly, little of the chilling terror that must have accompanied the maquis in their activities comes across. And some of the scenes are so unrealistic that they break whatever spell the film had succeeded in creating to that point. For instance, how likely is it that Resistant perpetrators of a successful attack on German troops would leisurely stand around their victims lying in the middle of the street, and chat. And how likely is it that one of the Résistance higher-up would emerge from the shadows and join them in their chat ? Surely, after the grenade explosion, the Germans, or the police, would have been swarming in immediately. The vast majority of native Frenchmen in this movie are portrayed as traitors and callous collaborators, while the Nazi barbarians are presented as gentlemen, assassinated at random, mostly for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. We must never forget that the population of France was the hostage of brutal thugs. To understand the conditions in that country, imagine if a village today was taken over by a gang of Hell's Angel who threaten everyone with death and torture if they don't do as they are told. Yes, of course villagers should refuse to obey and even go into the bikers' den and shoot everyone of them on sight. But is that really what we would all do?Surprisingly, this film was made in France by French people. It is another example of French self-flagellation.The film sins in another important way. The clear impression given is that the whole resistance movement was led and driven by immigrants with very little involvement of native French people. As if there was no Charles de Gaulle, no Jean Moulin, no hundred of thousands of other resistants, a great number of whom perished.Do not get me wrong. The intention behind this film is noble. Yes, of course, we must be informed of the essential, enormous and heroic contribution of immigrants to the Résistance efforts. This contribution needs to be acknowledged and honored.But this also needs to be done in a way that is fair to the other victims of German aggression. They are not to blame for what was done to them.

Sharing, from a safe cinema seat, the anguish of an occupied people gave us a view of how we might behave in such terrible circumstances. The villains are not the Germans but the French people themselves. The real horror is not in the big scenes of torture but the ordinariness of the concierge cheerfully denouncing people in her own building. The French are still living today with the guilt of all that and this film is one of the rare examples of a frank look at this from the inside. I called it a "worthy" film which carries the film-makers problem of telling a tough story but still needing to seduce an audience into the cinema. The Picture House had a very small audience when I saw it tonight.