"Knight Thoughts" -- exclusive web content
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
The French Algerian soldiers, a sort of Muslim "band of brothers" form the core of another passionate WWII film not to missed
War is Hell:
Days of Glory
2-23-07 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Days of Glory
2-23-07 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Days of Glory (Indigenes) is the ironic title of a film by director Rachid Bouchareb of the shameful disregard for a sect of Algerian
Muslims enlisted to help the French fight against the Nazis at the end of WW II. Bouchareb's script, co-written with Olivier Lorelle is
based on the true story of what happened to a sort of “band of brothers” section of these soldiers when, fueled by French
nationalism, they joined in the fight.
As the French prepare to battle the retreating Nazis we quickly learn that these Algerian Muslims are a God send to the stretched thin
French forces. But, naturally, though the troop leaders spout fancy patriotic phrases of praise for all after a first successful battle is
won, when it comes down to the basics – like equal pay, advancement potential, and the possibility of furlough – the Algerians
quickly realize that their unit is being discriminated against.
This is brought sharply into focus when a box of ripe, and apparently very rare, fresh tomatoes are offered to the French soldiers and
NOT to the Algerians at the mess tent. That’s the final straw for the group’s corporal and de facto rabble rouser, Abdelkader (Sami
Bouajila). Without hesitating, he throws the box of tomatoes on the ground and stomps on them. “Now none of us will eat them,”
he says in defiance to his commander, the prickly Sergeant Martinez (Bernard Blancan) who is actually on his side. When the
commanding officer is brought in he sizes up the situation and quickly sides with the Algerians – but only because he still needs
them in the fight ahead.
As the film progresses, we see time and again the Algerians doing their duty for France and their courage and misplaced patriotism
ignored because of their religion and ethnicity. One soldier's brief romance with a French woman fills him with dreams and hope for
a life lived far from his primitive homeland but it is not to be. None of the soldiers, in fact, are to see their sacrifices rewarded by
their allegiance to France.
The unknown cast beautifully acts this well paced story of frustrated glory and Bouchareb’s film is all the more heart wrenching
because of its non-fictional basis. But unfortunately, the movie comes in a year when the human consequences of war, specifically
WWII, have already been beautifully realized in a crop of other movies on the subject. Flags of our Father, Letters from Iwo Jima, and
Pan’s Labyrinth have all focused on the terrible realities of war on people through the prism of foreign cultures (though Flags primarily
highlighted its affect on American soldiers) and this overload will have the effect of diluting the audience for Days of Glory.
That shouldn’t stop those who love war movies and stories of great injustices from seeing this terrific picture. A sad coda informs us
that even now the pensions of those few surviving brave fighters and their families have been denied by French authorities. That
should resonate like crazy and serve as a reminder for all Americans – based on the shocking mistreatment of our own soldiers
returning home from the war in Iraq – that sometimes the greatest toll of a war is on those who are asked to fight and are then
forgotten when the fighting’s done. Subtitled.
Muslims enlisted to help the French fight against the Nazis at the end of WW II. Bouchareb's script, co-written with Olivier Lorelle is
based on the true story of what happened to a sort of “band of brothers” section of these soldiers when, fueled by French
nationalism, they joined in the fight.
As the French prepare to battle the retreating Nazis we quickly learn that these Algerian Muslims are a God send to the stretched thin
French forces. But, naturally, though the troop leaders spout fancy patriotic phrases of praise for all after a first successful battle is
won, when it comes down to the basics – like equal pay, advancement potential, and the possibility of furlough – the Algerians
quickly realize that their unit is being discriminated against.
This is brought sharply into focus when a box of ripe, and apparently very rare, fresh tomatoes are offered to the French soldiers and
NOT to the Algerians at the mess tent. That’s the final straw for the group’s corporal and de facto rabble rouser, Abdelkader (Sami
Bouajila). Without hesitating, he throws the box of tomatoes on the ground and stomps on them. “Now none of us will eat them,”
he says in defiance to his commander, the prickly Sergeant Martinez (Bernard Blancan) who is actually on his side. When the
commanding officer is brought in he sizes up the situation and quickly sides with the Algerians – but only because he still needs
them in the fight ahead.
As the film progresses, we see time and again the Algerians doing their duty for France and their courage and misplaced patriotism
ignored because of their religion and ethnicity. One soldier's brief romance with a French woman fills him with dreams and hope for
a life lived far from his primitive homeland but it is not to be. None of the soldiers, in fact, are to see their sacrifices rewarded by
their allegiance to France.
The unknown cast beautifully acts this well paced story of frustrated glory and Bouchareb’s film is all the more heart wrenching
because of its non-fictional basis. But unfortunately, the movie comes in a year when the human consequences of war, specifically
WWII, have already been beautifully realized in a crop of other movies on the subject. Flags of our Father, Letters from Iwo Jima, and
Pan’s Labyrinth have all focused on the terrible realities of war on people through the prism of foreign cultures (though Flags primarily
highlighted its affect on American soldiers) and this overload will have the effect of diluting the audience for Days of Glory.
That shouldn’t stop those who love war movies and stories of great injustices from seeing this terrific picture. A sad coda informs us
that even now the pensions of those few surviving brave fighters and their families have been denied by French authorities. That
should resonate like crazy and serve as a reminder for all Americans – based on the shocking mistreatment of our own soldiers
returning home from the war in Iraq – that sometimes the greatest toll of a war is on those who are asked to fight and are then
forgotten when the fighting’s done. Subtitled.
