FANS of war movies – and Second World War movies in general – should keep an eye out for Female Agents when it’s released in UK cinemas this summer.

Directed by Jean-Paul Salome, of Arsene Lupin fame, the film is designed to pay tribute to the heroism and sacrifices made by female Resistance fighters in France. It stars Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain and Moritz Bleibtreu and offers shamelessly old-fashioned action-adventure that makes for a really good watch.

Set in May 1944, the film follows a five-woman commando unit as they parachute into occupied France on a daring and dangerous mission to protect the secret of the D-Day Landings and eliminate Hendrich (Bleibtreu), the head German counter-intelligence.

The five are: Louise (Marceau), a trained sniper and the widow of a Resistance leader; Jeanne (Depardieu), a tough hooker who won’t hesitate to kill; Gaelle (Deborah Francois), a young and brilliant explosives expert desperate to see some action; Suzy (Marie Gillain), a stunning former showgirl and Heindrich’s one-time lover and Maria (Maya Sansa), an Italiancontessa undercover with the French Resistance.

During the course of their mission, many will pay the ultimate sacrifice, whilst putting loyalty and honour to the test.

Salome says he was moved to make a film like Female Agents after reading an article in The Times newspaper devoted to Lise Villameur, a French Resistance agent who worked for the SOE (or Special Operations Executive) that was created by Winston Churchill during the Second World War. She had just died at the age of 98.

“She had been a real heroine and Britain paid tribute to her,” he explained. “Intrigued by her story, I started doing some research with the help of the historian Olivier Wieviorka and I discovered that other women had been SOE agents. They were among the 50 or so agents of the “French section” and were trained in England before working for the Allies in occupied France.

“These women gave the lie to the movie cliche of women in the Resistance carrying hand grendaes in the basket of their bicycle. A more impressive picture emerged of women carrying out the same kind of operations as men.

“That’s why I wanted to make Female Agents a thriller in which female characters would reveal their true selves in the heat of the action.”

Salome adds: “We sometimes forget that the people who fought the occupiers during World War Two were the children or grandchildren of those who, 25 years earlier, had defended their country, the land of human rights, and their freedoms. It was a very strong ideal and memories were still so present that they refused to give in!

“I also wanted to pay tribute to the women who displayed exceptional courage and who, to my knowledge, received less honours after the war than their male counterparts.”

Incredibly, out of more than 1,000 Liberation Crosses that were awarded after the war, only six went to women (one of whom was Berty Albrecht). So, Salome has attempted to rectify the oversight by reminding people that women played just as vital a part in the war effort – at times – as men.

Female Agents opens in UK cinemas on June 27, 2008

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