MovieChat Forums > L'armée des ombres (1970) Discussion > Best films/books about the Resistance (F...

Best films/books about the Resistance (French/Dutch/Danis h etc)?????

posted 18 years ago by HashRouge
24 replies | jump to latest

Please help, I have developed a deep thirst for knowledge of this kind!

When the world is run by fools it is the duty of intelligence to disobey

[–] artihcus022 16 years ago

Marguerite Duras' La Douleur. It's a mix of fiction and non-fiction and I don't know about how much is/is-not true or not but I found it a fascinating first person account of the resistance and also an interesting perspective of France just after Liberation.

"Ça va by me, madame...Ça va by me!" - The Red Shoes

[–] thedude_85 15 years ago

Le chagrin et la pitié (the sorrow and the pity) is a superb 1969 documentary about occupied and Vichy France featuring loads of interviews with Resistance members, ex German soldiers, politicians and even a former member of the SS. Woody Allen is a big fan and his character famously took Annie Hall to see it in the film of the same name. It is a fascinating look at France during WW2, told from all sides.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kenwil 15 years ago

The book Das Reich by Max Hastings. The resistance tries to slow down a German army division as it travels from south west France to fight the Allied forces in Normandy. True story.

[–] everybodyever 15 years ago

Just saw this thread and thought I'd recommend Kanal, an early Andrzej Wadja movie about a faction of the Polish resistance during the Warsaw uprising's aftermath.

[–] fanaticita 14 years ago

About the Dutch resistance I especially liked:

Soldier of Orange
Flame and Citron
Black Book

All were excellent.

[–] deeveed 14 years ago

I have them all and yes all are excellent.

"Eye of Vichy", the dvd, while not actually on the Resistance, does a give a fine overview of what they were up against in France during the time.

And another dvd is "La Bataille du Rail" whcih shows French railway workers sabotaging Nazi supply trains.

[–] bricksnmortar82 9 years ago

Soldier of Orange (Dutch)
Black Book (Dutch)
Ivan's Childhood (Soviet/Russian)
Flame & Citroen (Danish)
A Generation (Polish)
Kanal (Polish)
Ashes & Diamonds (Polish)
Rome: Open City (Italian)
Army of Crime (French)
Ballad of a Soldier (Soviet/Russian)
The Cranes Are Flying (Soviet/Russian)
The Ascent (Soviet/Russian/Belarusan)
A Man Escaped (French)
My Way Home (Hungarian)
Germany Year Zero (Italian)
City of Life and Death (Chinese)

And the following films aren't totally about WWII, but rather the Spanish Civil War of '36-'39 (which, like the Second Sino-Japanese War of '37-'45, was really a precursor to what was in essence the same struggle anyway):
Land & Freedom
Libertarias
¡Ay, Carmela!
La Voz Dormida
The Devil's Backbone
L'espoir (French)

[–] magnus-bernhardsen 12 years ago

Flame and Citron is about the Danish resistance. But yes, it is a great film.

[–] hoov-4 11 years ago

Max Manus is a great movie as well.

[–] mackjay2 11 years ago

I agree with previous posters about:

Mr Klein (Joseph Losey, director)

Lacombe Lucien (Louis Malle, director)

Very strong, very well made films set during the Occupation of France.