Female Agents (2008)
"Les femmes de l'ombre" (original title)

In May 1944, a group of French servicewomen and resistance fighters are enlisted into the British Special Operations Executive commando group under the command of Louise Desfontaines and ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Paul Salomé

Writers:

Jean-Paul Salomé, Laurent Vachaud

Stars:

Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophie Marceau	...	Louise Desfontaines
Julie Depardieu	...	Jeanne Faussier
Marie Gillain	...	Suzy Desprez
Déborah François	...	Gaëlle Lemenech
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Karl Heindrich
Maya Sansa	...	Maria Luzzato
Julien Boisselier	...	Pierre Desfontaines
Vincent Rottiers	...	Eddy
Volker Bruch	...	Lieutenant Becker
Robin Renucci	...	Melchior
Xavier Beauvois	...	Claude Granville
Colin David Reese	...	Colonel Maurice Buckmaster
Jurgen Mash	...	Gerd Von Rundstedt
Conrad Cecil	...	Le géologue anglais
Alexandre Jazede	...	René Bourienne

Storyline

In May 1944, a group of French servicewomen and resistance fighters are enlisted into the British Special Operations Executive commando group under the command of Louise Desfontaines and her brother Pierre. Their mission, to rescue a British army geologist caught reconnoitering the beaches at Normandy, and to kill a German SS colonel who is close to figuring out the imminent secret of D-Day, proves to be emotional and brutal. The story is inspired by the accomplishments of decorated SOE agent Lisé de Baissac.

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Plot Keywords:

normandy | rescue | d day | hospital | resistance | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [gb] TFM Distribution [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

5 March 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Female Agents

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£68,412 (UK) (27 June 2008)

Gross:

£157,077 (UK) (4 July 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Chauves-Souris, Banque Populaire Images 7, Banque Populaire Images 8

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the inspirations for the film came when director Jean-Paul Salomé read "The Times" in London one morning whilst on post-production of Adventures of Arsene Lupin. Salomé saw a full page devoted to Lise Villameur, a French Resistance agent who worked for the SOE, the Special Operations Executive created by Winston Churchill during the Second World War. She had just died at the age of 98. She had been a real heroine and Britain paid tribute to her. Intrigued by her story, Salomé started doing some research with the help of historian Olivier Wieviorka. Salomé discovered that other women had been SOE agents. They were among the fifty or so agents of the "French Section" that were trained in England before working for the Allies in occupied WWII France.

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Goofs

The UK doesn't have a 'Royal Academy of London', although there are several other Royal Academies [i.e. Arts, Music, Dance, Ballet, Opera].

User Reviews

Much more real, bleak and thoughtful film than I expected

1944. An undercover agent working for the Allies, holding vital information about the future D-Day landings, is trapped in a French hospital, behind enemy lines. The agent is potentially only hours away from being discovered by the SS, and so the British Strategic Operations Executive put together a team of French speaking agents rescue him. Except for the commanding officer, the team are all women...

Oh, yes. That sounded like just the ticket. Definitely a bit of a romp. Something along the lines of a 1940's set "Mission: Impossible". Stunts, action sequences, beautiful women with serious weaponry using their womanly wiles to run rings around evil, horny Nazis.

Forget it. "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was not that film. The girls were beautiful, there was some de rigeur European nudity and also plenty of firepower and action, but "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was a much more real, bleak and thoughtful film than I expected. Bloody, nasty and sadistic, not to mention dangerous with some toe curling scenes of torture. Mix in with that meditations on fear, betrayal and ultimate self sacrifice.

Perhaps "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was uneven, but it was also a really interesting take on that old chestnut: The war movie about a team sent behind enemy lines on a vital mission. I doubt that Tarantino will make a more memorable film when and if he finally finishes "Inglorious Bastards".