took over Madrid on 28 March 1939. Many have estimated the deaths to be anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000, as this proved to be a testing group for future air and tank warfare. The war also further sprung strong points of view in terms of tyranny, democracy, fascism, and communism leading to World War II. The Popular Front in France sought to defend democratic forms against the newly fascist regime. This was a coalition between the working class and middle class all to protect the country from fascist ideals. In 1936, a socialist popular front led by Léon Blum took over Furthermore, fascism and communism were gaining followers and momentum by the day. In Germany, there was Adolf Hitler, in Italy there was Benito Mussolini, in Spain there was Francisco Franco, in the Soviet Union there was Joseph Stalin and in Japan, many ideologies were used to create a powerful military. The rise of fascism gave countries like Germany and Italy a foundation for rebuilding and a way for them to blame their problems on minorities such as jews, Slavs and Gipsies. Communism was able to promise people an opportunity, overhauling capitalism into their society. Ultimately these powerful leaders were able to instill ideologies into society in order to create extremely repressive, brutal regimes. This created a great threat to the world ultimately beginning World War II. Reception Initially, critics were extremely skeptical about Triple Agent because of Rohmer's earlier film, The Lady and the Duke (2001). French critics had hated The Lady and the Duke because it portrayed the French revolutionaries in a negative light instead of as a movement for justice; they had found it slow and irritating and so were expecting another Rohmer film to be "like watching paint dry". However, Triple Agent was extremely well received by critics in France. Ultimately, Rohmer has been known for challenging the conventional in a beautiful and elegant manner. References External links 2004 films 2004 thriller drama films 2000s French-language films 2000s German-language films 2000s historical drama films 2000s historical thriller films 2000s Russian-language films 2000s spy drama films 2000s spy thriller films Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Éric Rohmer Films set in 1936 Films set in 1937 Films set in Paris France 2 Cinéma films French films based on actual events French historical drama films French historical thriller films French spy drama films French spy