L’ARMÉE DES OMBRES · ARMEE IM SCHATTEN | Black Box im Filmmuseum Düsseldorf - Tag der Befreiung

In the organizer's words:

L'ARMÉE DES OMBRES - ARMY IN THE SHADOWS

F-I 1969 - 138 min - OmU - digitalDCP - FSK 16 - D: Jean-Pierre Melville - B: Jean-Pierre Melville based on a script by Joseph Kessel - C: Pierre Lhomme - D: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret, Claude Mann a. o.

In occupied France, a small group of women and men operate in secret. Their existence is characterized by conspiracy, fear, loyalty and the constant proximity to death. Jean-Pierre Melville, himself a former member of the Résistance, created one of the most uncompromising works about the organized resistance against the German occupation during the Second World War in 1969. It is based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Kessel, who was also active in the French resistance.

Melville deliberately avoids pathos and heroic exaggeration. Instead, he shows the resistance as a moral and existential decision involving isolation, violence and irreversible sacrifice. The characters act soberly, almost anonymously, embedded in a strictly conspiratorial structure in which betrayal, torture and death are omnipresent. The controlled visual language, muted colors and precise rhythm create an atmosphere of permanent threat.

On the occasion of Liberation Day on May 8, the film commemorates the anti-fascist resistance against a totalitarian regime. In a present that is once again characterized by political crises, authoritarian movements and the questioning of democratic values, this historical experience gains new relevance - as a reminder of the price of freedom and the necessity to actively stand up for freedom and against dictatorial tendencies.

Introduction to resistance and perpetration in Düsseldorf: Jona Winstroth (Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Düsseldorf)

Price information:

Admission 7 Euro - reduced 5 Euro - with Black Box Pass 4 Euro - ticket reservation Tel 0211 - 8992232