Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Resistance’ On Showtime, A Drama About Marcel Marceau’s Efforts To Help Jewish Orphans Survive World War II

There have been many a movie about the heroes of World War II, many of whom contributed in unexpected ways; Schindler’s List, The Imitation Game, Hacksaw Ridge and Dunkirk, to name a few. Like Schindler’s List shined a light on the heroism of Oskar Schindler, Resistance, now streaming on Showtime, tells the lesser known story of world-famous mime Marcel Marceau’s days as a Jewish resistance fighter during the war. 

RESISTANCE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Kristallnacht. Munich, Germany. Soon after they’ve tucked her into bed, Elsbeth (Bella Ramsey) watches her parents get brutally murdered by Nazis in the street outside their home. In the days that follow, Elsbeth finds herself with dozens of other Jewish orphans carted over the border to France, where their freedom has been bought. There to receive them are sisters Emma (Clémence Poésy) and Mila (Vica Kerekes), as well as young Marcel Marceau (then Mangel), his brother Alain (Félix Moati), and their cousin Georges (Géza Röhrig). Marcel, though initially reluctant to help his cousin with the children (he claims not to be good with them), is almost immediately moved by the sight of them, and begins to step up to the task. While the others feed and clothe the children at their new group home, Marcel does his best to make them laugh with his mime performances and goofy impressions. This safe haven isn’t good for long, though, and soon the group is forced to disband; children are sent to whatever homes, orphanages, and churches will take and protect them.

With the help of fake passports forged by Marcel, the group of adults head to Lyon in the south to join the resistance, where the fight is only just beginning. The villain at the heart of that fight? Infamous SS Officer Klaus Barbie (Matthias Schweighöfer), nicknamed “The Butcher of Lyon”. We bear witness to his atrocities and resistance members narrowly avoiding his capture – until they don’t anymore. With tragedy around every corner, Marcel and the group must find a new way to fight in this war, even if it’s not the way they originally intended to. So they decide to save as many children as they can, making history in the process.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Resistance hits a lot of the same beats as the aforementioned World War II movies, specifically Schindler’s List, and even pre-World War II flick Mr. Jones at points. There is also a bit of levity that might call to mind JoJo Rabbit, though that kind of satire and absurdity is wholly absent from Resistance.

Performance Worth Watching: Little Bella Ramsey became an internet sensation after stealing our hearts on Game of Thrones, and her performance in Resistance only further cements her as one of our brightest young stars. As young Jewish girl Elsbeth, she opens the film with questions about why the Nazis hate them so, and soon after witnesses the horror of this hatred with her own eyes on Kristallnacht. It’s heavy stuff, but Ramsey takes it all on with grace and authenticity, becoming the heart of the film in the process.

Memorable Dialogue: The dialogue in Resistance alternates between powerful and a little on-the-nose, but I found myself a bit choked up by Charles Mangel (Marcel and Alain’s father) when he explained to his son why he became a butcher, and not a singer – and why it took losing everything to pursue his dream. “They took everything but my voice,” he tells Marcel. It’s a moving little scene, a long overdue moment of recognition between father and son.

Sex and Skin: Alain and Mila have some giggly, covered up sex, but it’s brief.

Our Take: I have to confess that I began Resistance fully prepared to roll my eyes through a half-accent from Jesse Eisenberg and some equally half-baked storytelling. Eisenberg’s accent certainly wasn’t the best anyone has ever done, but the truth is, it doesn’t really matter. Resistance, even with all its little tonal inconsistencies and overplayed moments, is an intensely moving film, one that shines a light on a story I went in completely naive about. Resistance could benefit from a slightly-tighter edit (it clocks in around two hours), but most of the scenes do the intended job of helping to color our characters a little more thoughtfully. Many may find the smaller moments shared between father and son or sisters or children and Marcel tedious or irrelevant – especially when there is so much else going on – but those were the scenes that really worked for me. I want to know who these people are and why they’re there, and what plays a role in their relationships. It makes the larger set pieces here that much more effective.

The performances in Resistance are what really help it sing; Eisenberg does a solid job, but even during the weaker script moments, the supporting actors – the aforementioned Ramsey, Poésy,  and Schweighöfer in particular – really drive things home. Poésy shakes off the more tired tropes around playing the hero’s romantic lead and winds up something of a hero herself, bringing real weight and pain to some of the film’s more affecting scenes. I will probably have nightmares about Schweighöfer’s Klaus Barbie; he effectively embodies the horror of the real, soulless man who was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands, and he often does so without a single word. In a movie about a mime, it’s interesting that its villain almost puts on a better silent performance than its hero does. I found myself holding my breath as he inspected a train full of escaping children (and Poésy held her breath, too), I got chills down my spine as he quietly, cheerfully observed a room full of people he was about to terrorize. It’s great drama, stomach-churning stuff, and it’s all thanks to the strength of the performers.

My (and I’m sure many others’) biggest gripe with Resistance is its tonal inconsistencies; it’s a little jarring to change gears from Marcel doing a goofy impression of Hitler for the children to the diabolical torture of Klaus Barbie. While levity and cruelty are certainly a difficult duo to balance – and my head did spin at times – the truth is, I wasn’t all that offended by these shifts. They are inconsistent, yes, but not offensively so, and it never feels as though the filmmakers are trivializing the weight of these events. Whether the scene is as chilling as Barbie executing prisoners in an empty, glossy hotel swimming pool or as light-hearted as Marcel doing a performance with a bagel, the actors sell it so well that they almost make it feel like a cohesive whole. Additionally, the framing device utilized by the film – General Patton played by Ed Harris introducing Marceau in Nuremberg – feels totally unnecessary, but allows for a nice conclusion performance-wise from Eisenberg all the same. Is Resistance  a perfect movie, or even one of the best set during World War II? No. Is it a stirring, meaningful one? Absolutely. The story at the heart of Resistance is truly astonishing, and even with all its flaws, the film delivers a powerful tale and pays loving tribute to its heroes.

Our Call: STREAM IT. While Resistance may struggle with its tone at times, it is an affecting drama and puts a welcome spotlight on a little-known true story.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Watch Resistance on Showtime

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