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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Days
of Glory
Stars: Jamel Debbouze, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zern, Bernard Blancan, Samy Naceri, Mathieu Simonet and Benoit Giros Director: Rachid Bouchareb Scriptwriters: Rachid Bouchareb and Olivier Lorelle Weinstein Company Not Rated but could be R Running Length: 123 minutes French language with subtitles In America, we have heard of soldiers of ethnic groups not being treated fairly, well, other countries have the same situation. Days of Glory is a French film about World War II indigenous soldiers (a term literally meaning "misplaced") from North Africa, who fought for France, but came in at the bottom of the list for rewards. Their pensions were frozen by the French government, which passed the ball from one regime to another, not resolving anything. Sounds suspiciously like Buffalo Soldiers in the U.S. This film follows a small group of North African soldiers through training and into battle. They are Muslims, but still believe in France as their country and willingly fight. Officers (such as Bernard Blancan) don't treat them with respect and they endure prejudice at every turn. Citizens, however, think otherwise and when the men come into a small village, they find the people cooking meals. This is quite a switch and one of the men (Roschdy Zern) begins to think he could have a life after the war, perhaps even marry a light-skinned woman and settle down to a peaceful life. An ambitious soldier (Sami Bouajila) is studying to raise himself in rank. He is thus an outcast from his friends who don't read and from the French officers who see this as a threat. When the soldier finally gets a chance to command, we see what happens in this convoluted world of war. Days of Glory director Rachid Bouchareb has several stories going on and skillfully weaves them through wartime. Neither French soldiers or North African soldiers think they can trust each other and this does not bode well on a battlefield. Special war effects are done well as is the cinematography. With the theme of forgotten pensions brought to the forefront, one hopes this will be successfully resolved. Copyright 2006 Marie Asner Submitted 12/19/06 
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