Army of Shadows. Introduction to a classic about the Resistance

Serious Topics

This course explores representations of resistance in cinema and invites participants to reflect on its different forms, motivations and democratic implications. Resistance can mean refusing, disobeying, demonstrating, voting, rising up, but also creating and making films. Through the analysis of films and excerpts, participants are encouraged to examine the links between resistance, freedom, democracy, human rights and civic responsibility. The course focuses on Army of Shadows (1969) by Jean-Pierre Melville, an adaptation of Joseph Kessel’s novel. A former member of the Resistance, Melville follows a small clandestine network confronted with waiting, fear, loyalty and often impossible moral choices. Far from a heroic and triumphalist vision, the film offers a sober and ambivalent representation of the Resistance, conveyed through an aesthetic dominated by grey and blue tones.A 30-minute introduction situates the film in its historical and cinematic context, presents its origins and reception, and places it in perspective alongside other representations of the Resistance.The course also helps develop tools for integrating cinema into the classroom, critically analysing images, and raising students’ awareness of issues relating to memory, education for democracy and citizenship.