Les femmes de l'ombre (2008)

In 1944, in London, Lieutenant Pierre Desfontaines assigns his sister Louise Desfontaines to convince three other women to form a five-woman task force under his command to rescue a British... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Paul Salomé

Writers:

Jean-Paul Salomé, Laurent Vachaud

Stars:

Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Moritz Bleibtreu

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 1944, in London, Lieutenant Pierre Desfontaines assigns his sister Louise Desfontaines to convince three other women to form a five-woman task force under his command to rescue a British geologist from a German hospital in the countryside. The geologist was assigned by Colonel Maurice Buckmaster in a reconnaissance mission of the soil of the beaches at Normandy for the D-Day and had been captured by the Germans. Louise and Pierre force the prostitute Jeanne Faussier that is imprisoned for murdering her pimp; the explosives expert Gaëlle Lemenech that misses action; and the former dancer and fiancé of Colonel Karl Heindrich, Suzy Desprez, using blackmail and unethical methods to fly to France and join the Italian agent Maria Luzzato in the assignment. They are well-succeeded but when they deliver the geologist to the British aeroplane, Pierre betrays the group. He forces the women to travel to Paris to kill Colonel Heindrich who suspects that the landing of the allied forces will be...

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Plot Keywords:

female murders a male | woman wears a gas mask | murderess | normandy | d day | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United Kingdom] TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

5 March 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Female Agents

Filming Locations:

Dépot AJECTA, Longueville, Seine-et-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The style and authenticity of the actors' hairstyles became a full-on obsession for director Jean-Paul Salomé during principal photography.

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Goofs

Heindrich is referred to as "Oberst", which is an army rank, there was no such rank in the SS. The equivalent SS rank was "Standartenführer".

User Reviews

Excellent.

This is the story of four girls recruited in the latter part of WWII, who are dropped into occupied France, and reek havok to rescue a captured British spy, caught in France posing as a geologist. It is often bloody and gritty, but totally convincing, and never boring. I read a previous comment that described it as a "Made for TV movie". Well all i can say is, they certainly don't make war movies with full frontal nudity and torture scenes, and show them on my TV. The fact that this is the story of women doing what we would generally have expected only men did during the war, is what what I found so interesting. I'll never chain my wife to the cooker again. An excellent, entertaining, well made film. The acting is totally convincing, particularly Sophie Marceau, who plays the lead role. 7.5/10