Robert Guédiguian unveils “The Army of Crime” Out of Competition

The Out-of-Competition selection The Army of Crime brings director Robert Guédiguian to Cannes for a fifth visit. Firmly attached to his Marseille roots and Communist politics, Guédiguian has marched up the coast and uptown to the Croisette to present Dernier Eté in a Parallel Section in 1981, Rouge Midi in 1984’s Certain Regard, Marius et Jeannette in 1997, and Marie-Jo et ses deux amours in Competition in 2002. Guédiguian’s latest feature investigates the tragic story of the group of Resistance fighters led by Armenian immigrant Missak Manouchian: an exciting 40s period piece which is an homage to the sacrifices made by fervent believers from many countries who laid down their lives to free France from German domination in World War II.

Fascinated by the heroism of these shadowy soldiers led by worker-poet Missak Manouchian, Robert Guédiguian has this to say about developing the story: "I felt free to take certain liberties with history because I am quite certain that they do not contradict the events. The overall feeling of the character, what he accomplished, and his place in history, are true to life. But in fiction, sometimes the big picture conflicts with the facts. And that’s why I felt I could take those liberties. I changed certain facts about the chronology, for instance. In the film, Krasucki is arrested at the same time as Manouchian. In fact, he was arrested six months earlier. But I needed to change that, so that my story would work."

Army of Crime is intended as a teaching tool, and it will be served by an excellent cast. In addition to Guédiguian’s usual accomplices – Simon Abkarian, Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan – it features new faces (at least in Guédiguian’s world) like Virginie Ledoyen, Robinson Stévenin, Adrien Jolivet, and Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet.