Army of Shadows (L'Armée des ombres)

This 4K restoration was made from

the original 35mm negative and the sound negative.

The image was scanned in 4K by L’Image Retrouvée,

then digitally colorized and cleaned to remove the

imperfections present in the original

elements. This project was carried out by

the team at Studiocanal, Sophie Boyer and Jean-Pierre Boiget.

Digitization and restoration with support from the CNC.

"Bad memories, welcome nonetheless...

you are my youth of yore..."

ARMY OF SHADOWS

20 October 1942.

We are making a slight detour, but you are surely not in a hurry.

No, not at all.

It won't take long. My colleague is picking up supplies.

- You have to fend for yourself. - Of course.

The camp isn't that bad.

It's our best camp. It was for the Germans.

I don't quite understand.

During the war, they thought they'd take many prisoners.

They didn't take a single one, but now the camp comes in handy.

- What luck. - You can say that again.

You never know who they are or how to handle them.

Some have not been tried and are held indefinitely.

Others have dirty hands and are free again in no time.

They get posts in the local administration and even in Vichy.

Philippe Gerbier, 41 years old.

A respected public works engineer.

Sharp-minded. Independent nature. Distant and ironic demeanor.

Must be brought down a peg.

Apparently has connections. Handle with care.

Suspected of Gaullist leanings. Must be brought down a peg.

Acquitted. Has influence. Handle with care.

You are in a section intended for German officers.

I feel highly honored.

"Handle with care." Certainly. Very carefully indeed.

"- Philippe Gerbier. - Colonel Jarret du Plessis."

I don't know why you're here, but I'll tell you why I'm here.

I said in a café that Admiral Darlan was a wimp.

Pétain is one too. He lets the Navy push the Army around.

- At least you suffer for an ideal. - Aubert, pharmacist.

- Do you know what a Mahler grenade is? - No.

It is a conical casing...

that under pressure triggers chemical reactions.

I am a chemist; I needed such a grenade.

They turned me in, I couldn't explain anything.

Octave Bonnafous, traveling salesman.

I ended up by chance in a pro-Gaul list demonstration.

Those bastards even took away my pension.

Where can I set myself up?

In my capacity as quartermaster...

I can assign you that empty mattress.

Legrain, communist. That is Armel, a Catholic teacher.

- Is he asleep? - He's sick.

- Isn't there a sick bay? - It's full.

- Do you play dominoes? - No, unfortunately.

- You can learn. - No, thank you. That's not for me.

Excuse us, we're finishing our game before lights out.

The commander isn't stupid.

He locks me up with three imbeciles and two children.

- Out there? - I work at the power plant.

- A good job? - I get nothing for it.

I like working and I don't want to lose my routine.

Goodbye, comrade.

- Are you a communist? - No, but I do have comrades.

There were people from all kinds of countries.

Russians.

Poles.

Berbers.

Jews from all kinds of countries.

Gypsies.

Yugoslavs, Romanians, Czechs.

German anti-Nazis, Italian anti-fascists.

Spaniards who were against Franco.

And an unmistakable bunch of black marketeers.

Life-threatening.

All right?

I once laid high-voltage cables in the Savoie.

- Are you in electricity? - Just like you.

No, you're surely a big shot.

- We can talk about work. - Of course.

Of course.

The Catholic teacher died as quietly as he had always lived.

The next morning he was taken away.

I'd never heard his voice before.

I'm not sad, this is better for Armel.

In the end, they will pay.

Mr. Gerbier?

I have a plan. I'll tell you tonight.

Escape is difficult because of the barbed wire and the guards.

As for the barbed wire: the ground isn't level everywhere.

I can cause a power outage so the guards won't see anything.

Why haven't you done it yet?

I didn't want to leave without Armel; I didn't want to do it alone.

- With you, I have confidence. - Why are you telling me this?

Out there, they surely need you.

Turn off the light and go to sleep.

Good night.

The young communist and I secretly came up with an escape plan.

We overcame all obstacles.

Gerbier, they’re coming.

Pack your things.

Hurry up, Gerbier.

Would you like to say goodbye to Legrain?

Good-for-nothings. Farewell.

Your travel documents, please.

Thank you.

One moment, please.

There’s no answer. Can I take a message?

All right, thank you. No, you can count on me.

- Have a good trip? - Excellent.

Only one today?

We must take advantage of this. I’ll ask the guard something.

Run through two doors, the second leads to the street.

Good luck.

Excuse me, do you happen to have a cigarette?

What do you want?

A shave.

What the marshal said and did.

There you go.

- Thank you. - I’ll get the change.

Take this one.

It's not pretty, but it's the only one I have.

Paul Dounat, alias Vincent Henry, received a note from his group.

He had to be in Marseille at noon...

to meet a comrade in front of the courthouse.

Dounat had just arrived at the meeting point.

Police. Your papers.

Perfect, but you must come to the station to verify them.

What a lousy job.

Like it or not, you still have to put your hat on.

Only when we get off.

Look, he betrayed you. And Zephyr with his radio.

It's pointless to provide proof or question you.

We shouldn’t have used him long ago. My fault.

So few people, so many missions.

- Bison, can you go faster? - Not if you don’t want to draw attention.

I’m in a hurry too.

I have to get back to that old radio.

I have to fix the delivery boy’s bicycle.

And there’s a drop tonight.

- Do you have the false papers? - I have them with me. Do you want them?

- We’d better not park here. - We’ll go on foot.

- I’ll come with you. - That’s not necessary, thanks.

No, really not.

Agreed.

I’ll come back later just in case.

Not a word, or you’re dead.

The shack next door was empty last time.

We’ll go anyway.

In the back room.

- Is that the traitor who... - Yes, that’s him.

And are you in charge?

Claude Le Masque. He's been asking for a job for a long time.

I’ve been here an hour. Next door something's wrong.

They arrived last night or this morning.

I called Félix, but you were already on your way.

It’ll work out.

The interrogation can begin, I’ve prepared everything.

- It’s not a trial. - That’s the point.

That won’t do. The neighbors can hear everything.

Listen.

The walls are paper-thin.

The English could have sent us silencers.

Let’s find a better place.

How could you do that?

Pointless. The cellar is next to the neighbors’.

The attic is even higher than here.

We need a sturdy knife.

- Bison has one. - A knife? You’re kidding.

If you do that, I’ll stop you.

See if you can find a knife somewhere.

This can’t be. Come on, this is murder.

- We’re here to kill, agreed? - Yes, but not like that.

- We should... - The way. Yes, I know.

I’m not afraid.

This is my first time, do you understand?

For us too. That’s clear, isn’t it?

Nothing to be found. We can keep him here until Bison returns.

No, we’re busy and I have to inform the boss.

We can’t just smash his head in, can we?

Gag him.

We have to strangle him.

- With our bare hands? - There’s a cloth in the kitchen.

No fuss, he has to die. You’re here to help.

You wanted a tough job. This is one, so don’t complain.

Put him on that chair. Félix, stand behind him.

I’ll hold his arms and Le Masque his legs.

You won’t suffer, I swear.

- Let’s go. - I’ll be right there.

- I didn’t think we could do it. - Me neither.

You must have cyanide pills.

- If you’re caught, take one. - I will.

A rum.

- Jean-François. - Félix.

You’re still as young and handsome.

You haven’t changed either. What are you doing here?

I sold the garage, now I have a bicycle repair shop.

- And what do you do? - Nothing at all.

I have an appointment. Will you walk a bit with me?