Days of Glory (2006)

That was an excellent one.

Sadly Over-hyped

Just perfect...

Excellent but underrated film

The film is about the Free French Forces in World War 2 who where mainly made up of the colonial forces of the French colonies. The film shows the struggles of racism and favoritism of the French elites.The movie shows well done and large battle scenes without giving you the idea of a Rambo styled battle and shows the fear and dirt of the battles. It also gives a storyline that tells the relations of the troops with their French commanders and the French citizens who they have mixed relations with.My only complaint really is that the story of the multiple soldiers gets wobbly attention for each and some of the elements of their story aren't really explained.

A worthwhile film creates memorable characters with whom we can in some way identify; the memorable film takes the willing viewer to mental outlooks and physical places not normally experienced, and offers a distinctive viewpoint concerning a specific issue; Days of Glory qualifies in all departments.While it is easily defined as a "War Film," it is also a film about the way a dominant culture can manipulate those who depend on it, the people who fight for it, and the privileges it rewards to the fighters. Four solders from Africa join the mainland French to help defeat the Germans; unknowingly, they are often used as mere cannon fodder. We watch several distinctive individuals as they encounter assaults on their growth from without and within; the men are drawn with insight and care and their interactions are emotionally moving.Some critics carp that they have seen this film before in other guises, that it is not unlike, say, Saving Private Ryan--only true, I think, if a viewer has become too jaded with too many war films, with too much blood. Even if some of the situations have been shown in film before, the acting here is so powerful that the entire ensemble won an unusual Best Acting Award at Cannes--entirely deserved, and an unheralded sacrifice by fighting men that has been finally recognized and rescued from the dustbin of history.

I was happy to see this film. After all, practically every WWII film about the war in Europe focuses on the soldiers from the major combatants--Americans, Brits, Germans or the French. However, this one is about men from the French colony of Algeria--folks you seldom ever hear about and I am sure many people from my country had no idea these folks fought for the Allies. In fact, now that I think about it, the only film where I can remember North African troops was "Two Women" and the Moroccan soldiers who raped the two ladies in the film! So, fortunately, these brave men get their due in "Days of Glory"."Days of Glory" focuses on four men in particular. These four volunteered to free their mother country in 1943. However, they soon saw that they weren't quite regular soldiers. Instead of receiving accolades or rank for their efforts, the men noticed that the white Christian French soldiers received these honors and the job of these Algerians was to shut up and die. Other examples of prejudice against these men were shown throughout the film as well as many incidents where they proved themselves in action.While I am thrilled that the men in this film finally get their due, I only give the film a 7. This means the film is good and worth seeing, but it had room for improvement. My problem with the film is that despite being a heart-moving topic, the film, strangely, was a bit bland. Much of this is because you never really felt that you learned who these men were since the film felt quite episodic. I wanted to see more humanity and individual stories. Still, it's quite a good film despite this.

'Indigenes' tells the story of Algerians who fought for France in world war two. A complicated racial hierarchy existed: French-born, Algerian-born French, Arabs, and black Africans: the film concentrates on Arab characters, but gives a conveys a strong sense of the unity and divisions among these groups. But aside from this, it's also simply one of the best war films ever made, conveying brilliantly the utter hell of battle, and painting a portrait of World War Two that often invokes thoughts of World War One far more than it does blitzkrieg, as soldiers literally march across France and fight in the most squalid of conditions. Bernard Blancan is superb as a sergeant in denial of his own identity; but the whole cast is strong. My only quibble is with the English language title: 'Days of Glory' seems a strange title for a film that more recalls the sentiments of Wilfred Owen than of Hollywood.