''Resistance'' is a 2011 Welsh film directed by Amit Gupta and starring Andrea Riseborough, Tom Wlaschiha and

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1992), ''Don't Fool wi ...

. It is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Owen Sheers. The film takes place in an alternative reality in which

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

invades the United Kingdom during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Plot

After all the women in a remote valley on the Welsh border awaken to find their husbands have left to serve in the covert British Resistance, German occupiers arrive in the alternative reality thriller set in 1944 in which

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

has failed and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

has been invaded successfully by

. Facing a harsh winter, the women and soldiers find they must cooperate to survive, but each distrusts the other. The women want to remain loyal to their absent husbands, the soldiers are at war and the women are their enemy. Over time, the soldiers stop wearing their uniforms. The Germans help with farm chores or may leave a couple of shot rabbits on a porch. The Germans think the war may be over soon and want to take advantage of spending the winter away from war. Captain Albrecht becomes close to Sarah. To prove he can be trusted, he takes her to a cave where a priceless Medieval world map has been hidden from the Germans. He studied medieval history and did not want the SS or Himmler to get it. Another much more elderly wife named Maggie has become friends with Bernhardt. Spring has arrived and Sarah convinces Albrecht to let Maggie take her prized cob horse to the county fair, and Bernhardt accompanies her. The women wanted to know if there was any news of their husbands. A friend of Maggie tells her that the group of men that blew up the railway bridge had all been hanged by the Nazis. Maggie returns to the valley with a third-place win but is very changed by the knowledge that the husbands are dead. Young teen George sees Maggie's fair trip as a collaboration with the enemy and shoots her horse as punishment. The loss of both her husband and her horse is enough to kill Maggie. Soldier Steiner distrusts the valley women and he runs off to town with the Army radio. Albrecht is in love with Sarah and asks her to escape with him before the Gestapo come. She agrees but actually goes home and writes her date of death in the family Bible. She then makes sure to burn the priceless map to keep it from the Germans. Always loyal to her husband and country, she walks off into the mountains to escape, and the film ends.

Cast

* Andrea Riseborough as Sarah Lewis * Tom Wlaschiha as Captain Albrecht Wolfram *

as Tommy Atkins * Kimberley Nixon as Bethan Evans *

Alexander Dreymon Alexander Dreymon (born Alexander Doetsch; 7 February 1983) is a German actor. He is best known for portraying Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the television series ''The Last Kingdom (TV series), The Last Kingdom'' (2015–2022). Dreymon's other notable ...

as Steiner * Iwan Rheon as George Bowen * Simon Armstrong as George's father * Stanislav Ianevski as Bernhardt * Sharon Morgan as Maggie Jones * Melanie Walters as Helen Roberts * Anatole Taubman as Sebald * Matt Hookings as German soldier * Mossie Smith as Ruth Evans * George Taylor as Gernot * Jassa Ahluwalia as Russian Partisan (voice) * Nia Gwynne as Sian Griffiths * Tomos Eames as Tom Lewis * Kerry Hutchinson as Gestapo officer * Callan Mcauliffe as Terrence Green * Marie Ingle as Terrence Green's girlfriend

External links

* *{{rotten-tomatoes, resistance_2011 *
Film Agency For Wales
' English-language German films Films based on British novels Films set in Wales Films shot in Wales Films set in 1944 British alternative history films Films about World War II alternate histories British World War II films German World War II films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films 2010s German films