Female Agents (Les Femmes De L'Ombre) (15)

Oct 4 2008

IT WAS rather lost against Wanted and The Chronicles of Narnia II when it was released in cinemas on June 27, but Female Agents remains one of the year’s most watchable foreign films.

Putting Charlie’s Angels firmly in its place, this adventure is like an ensemble version of the Cate Blanchett film Cha, the story of a young Scottish woman who joined the French Resistance to rescue her Royal Air Force boyfriend.

Taglining his film ‘heroism is not just for men’, director Jean-Paul Salome illustrates the value of team work on stories like this where you needed more than a James Bond / Bruce Willis-style figure to succeed in reality.

And, as with so many quality European movies, he offers a standard of rich cinematography that’s worth a look on its own.

With a cast led by Sophie Marceau and Julie Depardieu, the action is set on the eve of the Normandy Landings in spring, 1944.

Female Agents can be seen again on the big screen on Tuesday from 8.30pm as part of the Odeon New Street’s weekly Director’s Chair programme.