Army of Crime (2009)
"L'armée du crime" (original title)

The poet Missak Manouchian leads a mixed bag of youngsters and immigrants in a clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation. Twenty-two men and one woman fighting for an ideal and for ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Guédiguian

Writers:

Serge Le Péron (original idea), Robert Guédiguian (scenario),

Stars:

Simon Abkarian, Virginie Ledoyen, Robinson Stévenin

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Abkarian	...	Missak Manouchian
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Mélinée Manouchian
Robinson Stévenin	...	Marcel Rayman
Lola Naymark	...	Monique Stern
Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet	...	Thomas Elek
Adrien Jolivet	...	Henri Krasucki
Olga Legrand	...	Olga Bancic
Alexandru Potocean	...	Alexandre le mari d'Olga
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Inspecteur Pujol
Yann Trégouët	...	Commissaire David
Pascal Cervo	...	Inspecteur Bourlier
Paula Klein	...	Madame Rayman
Boris Bergman	...	Monsieur Rayman
Léopold Szabatura	...	Simon Rayman
Ariane Ascaride	...	Madame Elek

Storyline

The poet Missak Manouchian leads a mixed bag of youngsters and immigrants in a clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation. Twenty-two men and one woman fighting for an ideal and for freedom. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS general, eventually reaches Berlin.

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Plot Keywords:

ss | assassination | armenian genocide | ss commander | gunfire | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Studio Canal [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

20 August 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Army of Crime

Filming Locations:

Palais-Royal, Place du Palais Royal, Paris 1, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$8,102 (USA) (20 August 2010)

Gross:

$35,416 (USA) (26 November 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agat Films & Cie, StudioCanal, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henri Krasucki, part of the Manouchian group, was the general secretary of the French Communist Party from 1982 to 1992.

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Goofs

When showed up to the press after being arrested in November 1943, a member of the group tells a policeman the FFI will avenge them when they come. The FFI (Forces Francaises de l'Interieur) was regrouping several resistance groups and was created in 1944.

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Soundtracks

"Je chante"
Performed by Charles Trenet
Domaine public (1937)
Avec l'aimable autorisation de EMI Music France pour les USA
Lyrics by Charles Trenet
Music by Charles Trenet et Paul Misraki
(c) Editions Raoul BRETON

User Reviews

A wonderful worthy film

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.