“Diego Mora (Yves Montand), the Spanish hero of The War is Over, is a tired revolutionary who still has to make decisions every minute of his life. He dislikes his elders who fought in the Civil War as much as he despises the impatient young ‘Leninists' who will resort to any kind of violence to oust Franco. The film is related on the level of a political thriller, with Diego pursued by the ever-present fear of the police and of betrayal by inquisitive friends. His love for Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) consists of one long effort to shield her from the painful truth of his dedication, and their single love scene is among the most beautiful sequences in modern cinema, at once a compensation and a fulfillment for Diego. The intensity of The War is Over stems from Resnais's much copied but still unequalled combination of past, present, and future. Diego's mind strays from the here and now, experiencing memories and premonitions like the people in Sartre's novels. The commentary resembles a lament or a speech of resignation, while the music offers an escape into delirium, and Sacha Vierny's images of Paris and the car journeys through the countryside somehow characterize the grey futility of Diego's career.”