Chabrol's resistance drama has possibly been overshadowed by Jean-Pierre Melville's later L'ARMÉE DES OMBRES (Army of Shadows) which is similar in tone - Melville delves deeper into the resistance's layered operations - but Chabrol's under-rated film is both an involving WWII thriller and a portrait of a society's failings and humanity.
1941: a village in the Jura mountains is dissected by a river and the war: Nazi-occupied France on one side of the bridge, the Free Zone on the other.
Count Pierre returns, demobilised after being wounded, and discovers the Nazis have commandeered his chateau. His English wife Mary lives in the hunting lodge and Pierre discovers she helps the Resistance move escapees over the river to the free zone.
He refuses to help, disenchanted with the resistance's piecemeal achievements, but when a wounded spy is hidden by the townsfolk and the Gestapo close in, Pierre has to act.
Shelf or charity shop? This is a shelf candidate for several reasons: I will definitely watch this again for Chabrol's firm grasp of the story-telling and his sharp character delineation, a fine performance from Jean Seberg as the conscientious Mary, and quietly impressive performances from Maurice Ronet as Pierre, Daniel Gélin as the town's doctor, Stéphane Audran as the doctor's wife, Roger Dumas as the double-dealing poacher Chétl, Mario David as a vengeful game-warden and Noel Roquevert as the town's plain-speaking café owner. Several times the influence of Roberto Rossellini's PAISÁ is felt in the film's unflinching depiction of the casual indifference to life during wartime.
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