The heroic exploits of French Resistance fighters in WWII were recognized and celebrated during the war and after, but from 1053 Compagnon de la Libération medals awarded by General de Gaulle Free French government, only 12 were Communists, a grotesque distortion since Communists were a large percentage of the partisans and urban fighters.
After the war, Resistance members faced various hurdles. Former Vichy functionaries were back in the postwar government at all levels and needed to silence those that might have been witnesses to their cowardice, misdeeds or actual crimes. Communist militants also had to contend with their organization, the PCF = Parti Communiste Français. Some top members of the PCF had spent the war abroad in relative safety and were not eager to stress heroic deeds at home. Also, the PCF was trying to cover up several bad decisions during the war. One was, due to the Hitler-Stalin pact the PCF did not condemn the German occupation until the invasion of the USSR in 1941. Another was, after D-Day the PCF pushed the Resistance to engage the Nazis in pitched battles and to take cities, which led to useless casualties and savage German reprisals against civilians (such as the obliteration of Ouradour-Sur-Glane and most of its population by the SS Das Reich division).
The movie is about Georges Guingouin, a legendary figure of the Resistance in the Limousin region. He was a communist, a popular, competent and inventive commander that followed the PCF directives only when they made sense and won a reputation as an independent. After the war he faced the usual obstacles; he was branded a "Titoist" by the PCF, expelled from the party and vilified in Party publications. To top this, an ex-Vichy policeman concocted a case against him. He was indicted of a crime he never commited and there was an attempt on his life in prison. He was absolved of all blame in 1959 and rehabilitated by the PCF in his old age in 1998.
I liked this movie. Production vales are modest and acting has some rough spots here and there, but the film keeps your interest to the end. It has some unforgettable scenes such as the one where Guingouin confronts a group of prisoners that had attacked his forces. And, apart from its qualities, the film teaches a valuable history lesson.
After the war, Resistance members faced various hurdles. Former Vichy functionaries were back in the postwar government at all levels and needed to silence those that might have been witnesses to their cowardice, misdeeds or actual crimes. Communist militants also had to contend with their organization, the PCF = Parti Communiste Français. Some top members of the PCF had spent the war abroad in relative safety and were not eager to stress heroic deeds at home. Also, the PCF was trying to cover up several bad decisions during the war. One was, due to the Hitler-Stalin pact the PCF did not condemn the German occupation until the invasion of the USSR in 1941. Another was, after D-Day the PCF pushed the Resistance to engage the Nazis in pitched battles and to take cities, which led to useless casualties and savage German reprisals against civilians (such as the obliteration of Ouradour-Sur-Glane and most of its population by the SS Das Reich division).
The movie is about Georges Guingouin, a legendary figure of the Resistance in the Limousin region. He was a communist, a popular, competent and inventive commander that followed the PCF directives only when they made sense and won a reputation as an independent. After the war he faced the usual obstacles; he was branded a "Titoist" by the PCF, expelled from the party and vilified in Party publications. To top this, an ex-Vichy policeman concocted a case against him. He was indicted of a crime he never commited and there was an attempt on his life in prison. He was absolved of all blame in 1959 and rehabilitated by the PCF in his old age in 1998.
I liked this movie. Production vales are modest and acting has some rough spots here and there, but the film keeps your interest to the end. It has some unforgettable scenes such as the one where Guingouin confronts a group of prisoners that had attacked his forces. And, apart from its qualities, the film teaches a valuable history lesson.