Safe Conduct (Laissez Passer)

Set in the 1940s Parisian film industry during the German occupation of France, Safe Conduct is a quasi-fictionalised account of the real-life experiences of two men – Jean-Devaivre, an assistant director, and Jean Aurenche, a scriptwriter and poet.

Devaivre (Gamblin) joins the German-controlled production company Continental, as where else could provide better cover for his resistance activities? Meanwhile, Aurenche (Podalydes) uses every possible excuse to get out of working for the Germans in any capacity. After all, with three mistresses on the go, he could do without additional complications in his life.

While this stylised film sets up these two characters in dramatic conflict with one another, there are no conventional confrontations to speak of. Indeed, though Safe Conduct is populated with both collaborators and resistance fighters, in a country required to cough up 400 million francs a day, everybody’s primary concern is to avoid starvation and freezing cold. Hence, the movie swings between the farcical and the tragic as the two protagonists’ destinies unfold.

Almost certainly, the wealth of detail provided on the French film industry of the 1940s will keep hardcore buffs enthralled, but for casual viewers this film may be a bit like listening to two old geezers rattling on about the war – it’s interesting up to a point, but that point has long since come and gone before the film’s whopping 170 minute duration does.

Still, Safe Conduct is a quality production, if a demanding night out.