Resistance

Director Amit Gupta's alternative-history film, based on Owen Sheers's titular 2007 novel, is set in a 1944 where the D-Day invasion has failed and the German army is engaged in the conquest of Great Britain. In a valley in Wales, most of the men have gone into hiding to form an underground resistance movement while their wives remain behind. A German squadron arrives to establish control, but the commanding officer (Tom Wlaschiha) has become disillusioned after witnessing so much carnage, and he suggests that the women accept the help of his men on their farms as winter weather arrives. He is also attracted to Sarah (Andrea Riseborough), who doesn't know whether her absent husband is alive or dead, and she in turn is drawn to the German. Gupta clearly wants to convey the realities of occupation, along with the tension between remaining loyal to one's country and inching toward collaboration. Unfortunately, however, the film is slow and enervated, with both stars delivering performances that are so understated they almost evaporate. Resistance offers some lovely location shooting—which is beautifully photographed—but its dramatic dreariness ultimately undermines an intriguing premise. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)