Resistance (2011)
Directed by: Amit Gupta
“I hope you understand”, the last words uttered in Resistance, express a sometimes futile wish. This first feature from director Gupta is at times very confusing – not because it tries to cram too much plot into its ninety-plus minute running time, but arguably too little. The story is economically told, which is often a virtue, and it quickly dispels any notion that it will be a conventional war movie. Instead, it unfolds in a leisurely but frequently elliptical fashion so that we struggle to piece together motivations and roles.
The central characters, though, are clear enough. In 1944, following a German invasion of Britain (the D-Day landings have failed, we are told) Sarah (Andrea Riseborough) awakes to find that her husband, along with all the other men who farm in the remote Welsh valley where she lives, have vanished, presumably to form a resistance movement against the invaders who are expected to arrive within days.
The Germans duly appear in the form of a small squad of men led by Captain Albrecht (Tom Wlaschiha) who billet themselves in a nearby village, and politely forbid the deserted women to leave the valley. Albrecht is on a mission to locate an ancient work of art (an early mappa mundi, presumably evacuated from London for safekeeping) but when he finds it, early on in the movie, and does not report the discovery, it becomes clear that the captain intends to use his mission and the harsh winter as a reason to stay far from the fighting that is likely to be taking place in the major cities of Britain (short flashbacks depicting him in street battles in what must be the Eastern front provide a sketched-in motivation for this policy).
The Germans are courteous enough, and none more so than Albrecht (though an early scene shows him approaching the valley past scenes of murderous brutality which seem to bother him not one bit). At first, the women maintain an a stony-faced attitude towards their unwelcome visitors, displaying at least a passive resistance. But as time moves on, and the winter cold becomes more extreme, Albrecht initiates a hearts-and-minds campaign, offering help to the hard-pressed women. How should they deal with a situation in which the invaders try to collaborate with the occupied, rather than demanding the reverse?
Gradually, compromises are made, and we see cracks starting to appear in various forms of resistance, British and German. As the coming of spring unlocks the valley, what secrets will become visible to the outside world?
Resistance is effective in asking “What would you have done?” to a British audience that can sometimes take a simplistically black-and-white view of the accommodations reached by mainland Europeans who lived for years under Nazi occupation. The acting is excellent, and it is beautiful to look at (though it sometimes seems to over-emphasize the austere beauty of the Welsh scenery at the expense of narrative). The central tension between Sarah and Albrecht is compelling and, while it’s a shame Gupta does not make better use of his supporting cast (including Michael Sheen) – including, in some cases, explaining what they are doing, this is an assured and generally watchable first feature.
