Rachid Bouchareb's drama tells another under-reported chapter of World War II. This Oscar-nominated film tells the story of Northern African soldiers who fought on the side of France. They fought for patriotism and respect. They were treated like dogs sent out to attack an armed intruder. If they survived, the best they received were straps and a pat on the head for their sacrifice.
Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila) passed a test and was given the rank of corporal. He's put in charge of a band of other African soldiers. Said (Jamel Debbouze, AMELIE) is an illiterate Algerian man who becomes a lacky for French sergeant Roger Martinez (Bernard Blancan), who is the only person of importance to ever pay attention to him. Their relationship provides him privilege with the French officers, but scorn from the Africans. Turns out he's not as big a push over as he appears to be. Messaoud Souni (Roschdy Zem, THE GIRL FROM MONACO) is a tall, imposing man who becomes the troupe's sharpshooter. He has a French girl named Irene (Aurelie Eltvedt) in Marseille. He believes she is waiting for him, but then her letters never come. Yassir (Samy Naceri) and Larbi (Asaad Bouab) are brothers from Morocco, who are simply in the army to make some money. They aren't below stealing from corpses, but these Muslims draw the line at churches.
The African soldiers are recruited and thrown into battle with little to no training. In one bird's eye shot, we see hundreds of African soldiers storming a hill with artillery fire and bombs raining down on them. Expendable numbers are what they are, so why bother training them or giving them boots to wear in the snow in the first place.
hopes to earn the French soldiers' respect, but won't stand for the unfair treatment of the Africans. When they are denied tomatoes he squashes the vegetables in front of officers and says no one can have them. Is he severely punished? Actually, no. Sgt. Martinez might disrespect the Africans (or as the French call them wogs) to their faces, but to the other French officers he defends their service and understands that you have to treat them fairly to make them fight. Martinez knows Abdelkader is a patriot and a born leader; those are qualities can be used.
The film combines SAVING PRIVATE RYAN's dirty feel of battle and the heart of GLORY. I was also reminded of Spike Lee's 2008 WWII picture MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, thinking how that film wanted to be this film. The French title is INDIGENES, which is what these soldiers were called. For all they sacrificed, these soldiers' pensions were frozen by the French government after their home countries were given independence. At one point in the film Said tries to woo a French girl with his war exploits. He says, "I free a country and it's my country. Even if I've never seen it before." Makes you wonder who the real French patriots were.
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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
