Synopsis
This gripping historical drama recounts the story of Armenian-born Missak Manouchian, a woodworker and political activist who led an immigrant laborer division of the Parisian Resistance on 30 operations against the Nazis in 1943. The Nazis branded the group an Army of Crime, an anti-immigrant propaganda stunt that backfired as the team's members became martyrs for the Resistance.
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Cast
- Simon AbkarianMissak Manouchian
- Virginie LedoyenMélinée Manouchian
- Robinson StéveninMarcel Rayman
- Lola NaymarkMonique Stern
- Adrien JolivetHenri Krasucki
- Pierre NineyHenri Keltekian
- Olga LegrandOlga Bancic
- Alexandru PotoceanAlexandre le mari d'Olga
- Jean-Pierre DarroussinInspecteur Pujol
- Yann TrégouëtCommissaire David
Recommendations
- 100
The New York Times
Was it all for naught? Only weeks after the 23 partisans were arrested (and all but two promptly executed), Paris was liberated. Army of Crime is a passionate act of remembrance. - 100
San Francisco Chronicle
It shouldn't be missed. This is a fact-based story of the French resistance who had to fight not only the Germans but their own people. The title comes from the term in a propaganda poster that the Germans and occupied French government used to label the fighters as terrorists. - 90
Salon
This is a solid, spellbinding drama based closely on real history, which along the way offers a not-so-subtle commentary on the diverse, immigrant-rich society of contemporary France. - 80
Village Voice
Virginie Ledoyen stars as Missak's impossibly lovely, stalwart wife, and a troupe of supporting players give life to the men and women who died not for the miserable France of that moment, but for the vision of what it could be. - 75
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
This true story does a great service by honoring the memory of 22 brave men and women and by dramatizing the internal debates within the French population. But in staying true to life, it sacrifices some of the pacing and clarity of a conventional thriller. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
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. - 60
Empire
Compelling performances and beautifully told heroics but the pacing is flawed in terms of a thrilling cinematic experience. - 60
Variety
Guediguian's lengthy period yarn features a wide array of characters filmed with his habitual simpatico eye, but loses the dramatic thread in too many plots, too little action and not enough originality.
