Army of Shadows

Anti-romantic tragedy, full of contained pain and emotion of human beings, who choose to not deviate from duty.

A very well-made and engrossing film, but the 96 TCI rating was way, way off. For one this is one of the most ponderous, leisurely films I've ever seen. This doesn't lend itself well to a war film. Also whilst the direction and cinematography were impressive for a film of this age, the acting was mediocre. The subtitles were often poorly translated. So yeah, good film, but hardly one of my all-time top 5, as was suggested.

A good story at its core that kept my attention. However, I felt like the emotional investment the movie generated in me was very minimal, which really limited my enjoyment of it. This is a problem I seem to have with most older movies that I see. I guess they're just more subdued.

"Melville outlines the valorous and dirty deeds of heroes in taut action sequences that reach unusually existential heights."

honestly a pretty confusing film. the extended shots and tense scenes do a lot but the plot kind of goes in circles and leaves me disinterested