BY DOUG OSWALD
What
if the D-Day invasion of German occupied France during WWII was a failure and
the Germans ended up invading and occupying Great Britain? That’s the premise
of a fascinating alternate history movie, “Resistance.†Based on the book by Owen
Sheers and released in the fall of 2011, the movie opens in the Olchon Valley, England,
in 1944. It’s a lonely and isolated area filled with rolling hills, sheep and
old cottages. Sarah Lewis (Andrea Riseborough), awakens one morning surprised to
find her husband is gone. It turns out all the men in her valley have departed
to join the resistance. A group of German soldiers arrive led by Albrecht (Tom
Wlaschiha) and they set up quarters near Sarah’s home. Tommy (Michael Sheen) is
one of the men departing to join the resistance and we watch as he briefs
George (Iwen Rheon) on when to use the rifle hidden under the floorboards of
the house.
The
German occupiers led by Albrecht are in the Olchon Valley in search of an
artifact, a large map dating to the middle ages, which the Germans believe is hidden
in the area. Albrecht also happens to be a historian who was specifically sent
on this mission to locate the map. He finds the map in a cave near the village
fairly quickly, but does not disclose this information to his men. His
objective is to stay out of the fighting while the Germans wind down their
occupation, thus sparing his men from more death. Not all of his men agree with
this strategy of staying put and this creates conflict among the Germans.
A
harsh winter follows and a cordial relationship develops between Sarah and
Albrecht. As spring arrives it becomes clear the Germans are not leaving and
the men who left to join the resistance have not been successful. The women
continue their existence hoping and dreaming of the return of their men as the
Germans allow the women greater independence and normalcy. One of the village
men, Tommy, returns tired, beaten and bloodied. He thinks the Germans, by now
in civilian clothing as their uniforms have worn out, are other local men. He’s
captured, interrogated and shot in quick succession.
The
women soon learn things in the rest of England are returning to a kind of
normalcy and that the German have completed their occupation. Albrecht
reluctantly allows some of the women to travel to a neighboring village and
compete in a livestock fair, sending one of his men along as an escort. George,
seeing this as collaboration, finds his rifle and the result is a devastating
conclusion to this tale of isolation and alternate history.
While
the “what if?†backdrop is interesting, I felt the story is under-developed and
there are many questions left unanswered. Why were the women surprised when the
men left? Wouldn’t they know of their preparations? Why was the medieval map so
important? Why was it in the Olchon Valley? Why was it so easy for the group of
soldiers led by Albrecht to remain in isolation from the rest of the German
occupation force? Nobody noticed they were missing? The “resistance†of the
title never really occurs other than during the opening scenes of the movie
when the Germans first arrive. It was hard to connect with any of the
characters other than to feel pity for all involved.
The
English and German cast is uniformly good, given the uneven story which left me
wanting more compelling story angles. The movie, under the direction of Amit Gupta, feels much longer than the
brief 92 minutes, which is largely due to the predictable nature of this story and
it drags on with seemingly endless scenes of the English countryside. The movie
has little new to say that hasn’t already been said about war and military
occupation. The DVD released by Omnibus Entertainment is bare bones with a nice
transfer which highlights the rolling hills and sense of isolation.
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