Days of Glory

Though this movie review may be a little late,judging from the fact that i watched it with jj when it had just sneak previewed at "the cathay",it would still showcase my personal thoughts after watching the movie nonetheless.

The story:

The year is 1943.Saïd, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir had never set foot in France before but because of the ongoing world war,they have volunteered to join the French army in a bid to free the motherland from the Nazi enemy.Like 130 000 other "natives",these heroes, who were forgotten by History, will vanquish in Italy, in Provence, and in the Vosges before finding themselves alone defending a village in Alsace right till the last man against a German battalion before reinforcements arrive.Born in Africa,these soldiers were never obliged to join the war as they are not true French people. Instead,they have all volunteered to be part of the coalition against the Germans,to fight a war for their colonial masters,for freedom and most importantly for a quick resolution to world peace.However,after enlisting,they realise that the war to be fought does not occur only on the battlefield. Instead,they have to fight a war within their own army--a war of discrimination against their own race and religion and most importantly against the fact that they are not true French.

The cast:

Jamel DEBBOUZE(Saïd).Samy NACÉRI(Yassir),Sami BOUAJILA(Abdelkhader),Roschdy ZEM(Messaoud),Bernard BLANCAN(Martinez)

My comments:

After watching the show,i felt as though i had learnt a new chapter in history.This being the fact that never before in my life have i actually heard this story about muslim Africans under French colonial rule having taken part in the liberation of France.All along,the only thing that i was truly aware of in the liberation of France was the occurance of "D Day",where the allied forces ammassed a large attacking force on the beaches of France as they commenced their push to free the rest of Europe. The movie is really an eye opener to me and it has made me realise that sometimes,what we are learning in schools which is supposedly about history isn't entirely the whole truth afterall.Some of the facts may have been deliberately distorted or ommitted along the way for a particular reason that i am sure we are all clueless about.Things aside,the show really depicted the dedication of the "natives" in their battle against nazi rule.Despite being oppressed at times just because they were not born on the motherland,these natives set out to carve out an equal treatment for themselves from simple situations like being able to have a tomato during meals to having entitlement to leaves just as their "true french" comrades enjoyed.The movie really did an in-depth exploration of discrimination in society and it has left me wondering if truly,there is the need for such differences in treatment to occur. Afterall,we are all living on the same planet,breathing in the same air. Why then the need for such divisions as to say that a certain race,skin colour or religion is more superior to others. If none of us were to be so mindful about all these,then i am sure the world would be a much peaceful and better place for us to live in.Maybe when that day comes,we will all then be able to truly unite together against a common enemy or threat. As for now,since some of us are still unable to come to terms with all these,i guess the racial violence and ethnic clashes that are going on in some parts of the world will still continue to exist.
All pictures from the movie taken from : http://www.festival-cannes.fr/films/fiche_film.php?langue=6002&id_film=4352781