L'armée des ombres 1969

Marta Barber, Miami Herald: Its lack of sentimentality and melodrama is what elevates this thriller to another level. Read more

Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: As close to a masterpiece as any film you're likely to see this year. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: It becomes overwhelming as we watch -- a classic of life in the underground, of terror, love, friendship, betrayal, and of death hovering over all. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: The film is long and episodic, strangely divided between art-house enigmas and melodramatic payoffs for the matinee crowd. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Deals with the French resistance during World War II, but it's nothing like any other French resistance film ever made. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: This memorable movie movingly pays tribute to those who chose not to remain silent, to those ordinary men and women who chose to do extraordinary things... from the shadows. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The results bear witness to a time when sacrifice was bleached of everything but itself. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Masterfully made, with no detail unattended. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: What's so devastating about Army of Shadows is how physically we respond to the terrible decisions faced by the resistance fighters. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: ... the most meaningful atmosphere of exquisite suspense you're likely to see at the movies this year. Or most years. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: Place it squarely in the category of overlooked gems. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A painstaking study in courage and conviction under agonizing pressure. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The cast of characters is small and well-drawn by an ensemble of veteran actors. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Almost 40 years after it was made, Army of Shadows has more to tell us about the internal toll of war and taking a stand than anything Hollywood has produced. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: A film to be seen and savored for its moral magnitude. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Rarely has a film shown so truly that place in the heart where hope lives with fatalism. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The glacial pacing can be an irritant as the film unfolds -- I repeatedly wanted to speed things up -- but Army of Shadows won't leave you alone after you've seen it. Read more

Wally Hammond, Time Out: Superb. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Emerges from the mists of time in a new 35mm restoration as a career-capping epic tragedy. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It's a strange enough film, yet weirdly great. No movie has quite gotten the clammy weight of fear, the sense of hopelessness that would necessarily haunt underground workers. Read more