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| Very Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: The Battle of Barking Creek
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Has anybody seen this film starring Sophie Marceau or even heard of it? Is it any good? Based on true events(?). Thanks, Gage. Amazon.co.uk: Female Agents [Blu-Ray] [Blu-ray] [2008]: Sophie Marceau, Deborah Francois, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillian, Maya Sansa, Jean-Paul Salome: DVD
__________________ 'There I stood at the bar, wearing a Mae West, no jacket, and beginning to leak blood from my torn boot. None of the golfers took any notice of me - after all, I wasn't a member!' Kenneth Lee - after being shot down on the 18th August 1940. http://www.64-baker-street.org/agents/agent_fany_andree_borrel.html http://gagesb.deviantart.com/ ![]() |
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| | #2 (permalink) | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007
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| | #3 (permalink) |
| Very Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: The Battle of Barking Creek
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Found the offical site for it and the trailer looks quite good. I think the film is subtitled thoughout. Female Agents - On DVD October 6
__________________ 'There I stood at the bar, wearing a Mae West, no jacket, and beginning to leak blood from my torn boot. None of the golfers took any notice of me - after all, I wasn't a member!' Kenneth Lee - after being shot down on the 18th August 1940. http://www.64-baker-street.org/agents/agent_fany_andree_borrel.html http://gagesb.deviantart.com/ ![]() |
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| | #4 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Edinburgh
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I enjoyed this film. It's really a traditional action war film like Where Eagles Dare or the Guns of Navarone, with the twist that the action heroes are female. That wasn't an issue for me but it might be for somebody who expected something different. It's true in that SOE employed many female agents and Sophie Marceau's character is based on one of them. However, I think that the actual story is fiction; certainly, there are a couple of plot holes that mean it couldn't have happened that way.
__________________ Martin Last edited by Gibbo; 05-10-2008 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Put film titles into italics |
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| | #6 (permalink) | |
| Very Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004
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Why can't those people who make such films make them and portray a real character.Off the cuff, I can think of only two who portrayed real people. | |
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| | #7 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Edinburgh
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Supposedly Sophie Marceau's character, Louise Desfontaines, is based on a real SOE agent called Lise Villameur. However, the plot bears no relationship to any incident in her career. The first link below is to her Times obituary and the second to an entry from the IMDB. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...icle822813.ece IMDb :: Boards :: Femmes de l'ombre, Les (2008) :: Based On True Story???????? As I said above, it should be regarded as an action movie in the mould of Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone but unfortunately the marketing people have suggested that it's true because it's true that SOE employed female agents.
__________________ Martin |
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Lise Villameur was the sister of one of the best SOE agents in the south west, namely Claude de Baissac(David) who Buckmaster described as "the most difficult of all my officers without exception".However he was particularly good at his job and suffered no fool gladly. As Lise de Baissac (Odile), Mme Villameur, serving as a FANY was dropped into France on the night of 24-25 September 1942 along with Andree Borrel near to Poitiers.Her task was to creat a circuit to named Artist, a role which did not suit her.Her talents in the field were such that she extended herself further than the Poitou being the liason officer between the Scientist,Prosper,and Bricklayer circuits.Her SOE service records that she was a member of the Scientist circuit.These circuits were later were severely mauled by the Gestapo in 1943 but the root cause of the collapse was elsewhere.Lise was described as brave,intelligent and calm enough to extricate herself unscathed from the dangers in the field.No doubt these qualities would be found in her personal file if they still exist.Quite a lot of the SOE fileS were disposed of with rank irresponsibily after the war. Lise was picked up by Lysander on the night of 16-17 August 1943 by Hugh Verity from a landing field north of Tours codenamed "Torticolis".Believe it or not there were three returning passengers that night, the brother and sister Baisacs and Major Bodington (SOE second in command) who apparently went to Paris "to see things for himself".The operation of this movement was coded "Diplomat" and involved the character, Dericourt who history has accused of being a double agent and responsible for the elimination of the Prosper network leading to the deaths of many SOE agents and their intelligence contacts in France.Boddington's "jolly" did not go down too well with Vera Atkins but that is another story. Last edited by Harry Ree; 07-10-2008 at 10:57 AM. Reason: Posted unintentionally before completing.Finger trouble |
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| | #9 (permalink) |
| Very Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: The Battle of Barking Creek
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![]() | I believe Andree Borrel and Lise De Baissac were the first women to be parachuted in to France.
__________________ 'There I stood at the bar, wearing a Mae West, no jacket, and beginning to leak blood from my torn boot. None of the golfers took any notice of me - after all, I wasn't a member!' Kenneth Lee - after being shot down on the 18th August 1940. http://www.64-baker-street.org/agents/agent_fany_andree_borrel.html http://gagesb.deviantart.com/ ![]() |
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| | #10 (permalink) |
| Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Blaye, SW France
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I have to agree that it looks like a War Romp and nothing like a factual film. As a bit of interest, I had the great privilege of knowing Pearl Witherington Pearl Cornioley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I can confirm that she was not impressed with the film Charlotte Gray !
__________________ THA CAN ALLUS TELL A YORKSHIREMAN - BUT THA CAN'T TELL IM MUCH |
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