Resistance

I love Julia Ormand and was eager to see this movie on TV. She's as wonderful as ever. Unfortunately, the script was ridiculous.

An American pilot shot down in enemy territory. The villagers doing their best to save his life. Yet he pays no attention to their culture, their system, and their safety. He's only concerned about himself and what he wants. He takes over the house, goes outside, plays baseball, gave his dog tag to a kid, doing his best to expose himself to the Nazi while the villagers die to protect him. Even though he does not speak Frech, he goes out in public and refuses to hide so everyone can see there's a stranger in town. He only thinks about his own happiness, honor and others be damned. Unfortnately, the Germans were not as stupid as the American thought. Of course him and those who tried to help him all got caught.

With friend like this, who needs enemies? Who wrote this stupid script?

10 stars for some beautiful shots of the Belgian countryside and also for taking a stab at making a movie with anything to do with Belgium. This was the only reason I wanted to watch the movie anyway. I've seen one review complaining about French accents in Belgium. Belgium is mainly divided into the Dutch and French speaking populations, so it is no surprise to find a community of French-speaking Belgians. I am not impressed with anyone's reviews where they pick apart all of the little historical nuances that were done incorrectly. Really at the heart of what makes this a bad movie is that it is so uninspired. Acting, direction, dialogue, everything. What is the beautiful Julia Ormond doing taking roles like this? Bill Paxton is a likable guy when he is a cocky, buffoon character actor. But he is the last guy in Hollywood who should be doing serious romantic leading roles. You could tell that both stars knew this was not a shining moment in their careers and the love making scene is almost embarrassing to watch. The rest of the cast takes it more seriously and adds some level of saving grace, particular the young Belgian boy. I would have liked this movie much better had the lead parts been no-name actors who were getting an opportunity to star in a very minor film.

Resistance is very predictable, and this type of movie has been done many times before and much better. It comes across as a low budget B film. The script is so weak that even Paxton (miscast) and Ormond couldn't breath life into these poorly developed characters. The actions of the characters are not believable and the mediocre acting makes it even harder to tolerate the ridiculous dialog and silly choices the characters make. Did I mention plot holes? My husband walked out less than halfway through but I watched this slow paced movie to the end, albeit with a bit of fast-forwarding. With so many better movies out there this is just not worth the time, In My Humble Opinion! July2020

The film was very basic. One thing that really bugged me was how, in a time of war, Bill Paxton's character acted like he was at a country club, having absolutely no idea that his actions just might effect the people that were helping him. With his total disregard for his caretaker's marital status to his "I want to be in public" stance...it just got absurd. I started to wonder what point the movie was trying to make: a). the struggle and sacrifice of the Resistance b). the invasion of the Americans-stealing the Belgian brides. Why is it that a movie like this can't figure out what lines should be spoken in French and what should be in English. The main character floated around in both in a seemingly roll the dice approach. Sometimes she spoke to the American in English, other times in French.

The production value was high and the acting was pretty good otherwise.

Best dramatic work by Bill Paxton since "Apollo 13" and " A Simple Plan", and Julia Ormond's ( since her limited role in "Legends of the Fall" ). Engrossing and believable WW II tale . I personally viewed this film at the kick-off of the Stony Brook film festival. GREAT choice by SB's Director Alan Inkles ! This film may appeal more to an older crowd ( with a sense of having lived through earlier wars ), but a packed house with spontaneous gasps , oohs and ahhs tells more of it's involving appeal . The young Belgian actor portraying a disenchanted child of a Nazi collaborator and a shallow mother almost "steals" the movie, as an emotional soundboard of this edgy drama. Well done ... well worth your time !