Film Forum

France, 1966
Directed by Alain Resnais
Starring Yves Montand, Geneviève Bujold, Ingrid Thulin
Screenplay by Jorge Semprún
New 4K DCP Restoration. Approx 121 min.

LA GUERRE EST FINIE begins three decades after the Spanish Civil War and Franco's fascist military coup, with Communist operative Yves Montand (Best Actor, National Society of Film Critics), juggling multiple identities as he continues his dangerous missions, while reflecting on a life of political struggle. Though increasingly disillusioned, his determination to help a possibly captured comrade and chance encounter with impetuous student terrorist Geneviève Bujold, keep his commitment to the cause alive. Rejected by Cannes so as not to offend Franco’s government, LA GUERRE EST FINIE went on to win France’s prestigious Prix Louis Delluc and the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Foreign Language Film. Spanish novelist, screenwriter (Costa-Gavras’ Z, Resnais’ STAVISKY), and politician Jorge Semprún, himself an exile living in Spain and clandestine fighter for the Spanish Republic was Oscar-nominated for his autobiographical screenplay.

With support from the George Fasel Memorial Fund for Classic French Cinema.

Restored by Gaumont, with support of the CNC.

A FILM DESK RELEASE.

Reviews

"One of [Resnais'] most overtly confrontational yet self-questioning films. Resnais launched his career with such complex considerations of politics and memory as HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR and MURIEL, yet LA GUERRE EST FINIE, his fourth feature—a straightforwardly suspenseful thriller—is no less original or audacious...The tense plot involves the high-risk practicalities of clandestine resistance—the elaborate fictions that sustain false identities, the meticulous planning of subversive action, cat-and-mouse games with the police, intramural left-wing conflicts, and the dangers posed by romance. The drama’s prime motive—staying faithful to the legacy of the Spanish Civil War, whether as history, experience, or myth—is inseparable from the movie’s intellectual explorations."
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"A politically infused thriller from Resnais’s great run in the ’60s. The Spanish-born screenwriter  Jorge Semprún (who also scripted Resnais’s STAVISKY, and Costa-Gavras’s Z) drew on his own experiences for the story, which finds Yves Montand as a Spaniard working for the anti-Franco underground from France."
–  Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times

"A landmark film." 
– Dave Kehr

“If in some ways the most satisfying movie Resnais has made, credit is due largely to the lucidity and integrity of Yves Montand’s Diego, a revolutionary engulfed by fears, fantasies and futilities…”
— Andrew Sarris

“Resnais' previous films were explorations of the subconscious. With LA GUERRE EST FINIE, he unexpectedly gives us not only psychology but an exciting thriller, done with great artistry.”
— Roger Ebert

“The film’s depiction of a man maintaining faith in his ideals, despite the reality around him, makes this one of Resnais’ most satisfying films.”
– Georges Sadoul

“The filmmaker’s triumphant technique in blending past, present and future joins with his brilliant consideration of the revolutionary surviving beyond his passion.”
– Judith Christ, Ask Me No Questions and I’ll Tell You…

“The Sorrow and the Pity of Spain.”
– Soldedad Fox Maura

"A masterpiece.  One of the all-time greats."
– Archer Winston, New York Post

"So far above the other thriller films that comparison would be foolish." 
– Bosley Crowther, The New York Times