Days of Glory (Indigenes) (2006)

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  September 10, 2011

  fb1216165431

  Days Of Glory is a grim reflection on the events of World War II from the perspective of the unrewarded bravery and loyalty of colonial Algeria to liberate France from Germany. Passionate. Straightforward. Historically important.

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  August 17, 2011

  imrealgod

  Being ignorant of this historical warfare, I was absolutely lost in the beginning. I couldn't understand why X was fighting for Y against Z unless X was ruled by Y. But I was able to get hold of it soon. But I wasn't able to understand several things. Why Sergeant Martinez recomm... read moreended Abdelkader for promotion even after getting into a fight with him and with all their differences? Why would Said stake his life for Sergeant after he wants him to go to hell? Okay, I can take it that one or two of 'em have an all-of-a-sudden change of heart. But what's shown here is too hard to digest. Seemed like the makers lost their tabs on logic while trying to show/be clear enough that their intentions were pure. Of all the actors, Abdelkader was the best.

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  September 9, 2009

  flixsterman

  Inspired by actual events, Indigenes is the story of Arab soldiers serving in the French Foreign Legion in WWII. Director Rachid Bouchareb oversees a talented cast that brings to light the exploits of these obscure, almost forgotten heroes. A history lesson that everyone... read more should see.

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  May 25, 2009

  LorenzoVonMatterhorn

  "The true story of World War II's forgotten heroes"
  
  During WWII, four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from Nazi oppression, and to fight French discrimination.
  
  REVIEW<... read more/font>
  This riveting, poignant, deeply ironic docudrama tells the story of the 7th Algerian Infantry Division, a battle unit composed of Arab Algerians, mobilized, trained and led by French officers, that took part in the invasion of Italy and southern France to liberate these territories from the Nazis in 1944-45. It is war writ small, up close and personal. The focus is relentlessly cast upon the fortunes of the men in a single squad. Noteworthy is the subtext of unequal, discriminatory treatment of the Algerians, compared to French soldiers (e.g., inferior food, no leave). In that regard, the film prefigures circumstances that led eventually to the Algerian war of independence from France years later.
  
  The ensemble acting is nothing short of stupendous. Deeply etched character studies are offered by Jamel Debbouze (humble Saïd, the youngest, the man with the withered arm), Samy Naceri (Yassir, the protective big brother), Roschdy Zem (Messaoud, the marksman who falls in love with a French woman), Sami Bouajila (the ambitious natural leader, corporal Abdelkader) and Bernard Blancan (Sgt. Martinez, the French Algerian squad leader). This group jointly received the Best Actor award at Cannes last May. I think that "Glory" ranks with the very best war movies made in the modern era, right up there with films like Oliver Stone's "Platoon," Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," and Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima." I wouldn't argue with anyone who claims that "Glory" is the best of the lot.

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  March 8, 2008

  briandeguelle

  Great war film seen from another nation point of view.
  Very moving and worth checking out.

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  March 7, 2008

  drago25

  Days of Glory is a film I always heard a lot about, and finally got around to it. It's about a division of North African soldiers who played a large role in the liberation of France from German occupation during WWII, and the challenges they face to be accepted and recognized as ... read moreforeigners - it focuses mainly on five or six soldiers. For the first half hour of the film, I was inwardly groaning a bit, because up to that point, though it's a great true story and concept for a film, it was being very by-the-numbers in terms of filmmaking, largely sticking to convention in terms of war films. However, after that, once the characters have been fleshed out and the weight of the story really comes to bear, it broke free from a lot of these conventions and proved to overall be a pretty solid film. It's interesting because it focuses on no more than a single division of soldiers at the most, and a few of the main characters at the least. It doesn't get carried away in terms of scope like many war films, and this is a good thing, since it is supposed to be the story of a small group of brave soldiers who have been largely forgotten by the history books. The stand-out of the cast is definitely Sami Bouajila as Corporal Abdelkader, one of the leaders of the North African outfit. He's very effective as the outspoken but principled young corporal. But none of rest of the cast slouches, either. While the film does grow some wings after the drudgery of the first 20-30mn, it still does fall victim to several war film conventions that certainly detract a little from the overall experience (such as the token weak/cowardly character or the surviving soldier as an old man visiting the graves of his comrades many years later). But regardless, the film tells a compelling story that sheds some light on a little-known aspect of the 2nd World War, and for that reason, and the fact that it really is a well-made, polished film, in the final analysis, it's definitely worth a look.

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  October 28, 2007

  bbcfloridabound

  Part of History they will not tell you about in US High Schools, Also have never heard a WWII Vet talk about it. The British use men and I mean Use men from North African to help liberate them from the Germans. This is a very good film, a Must See, with English Subtitles.

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  October 25, 2007

  gor41

  Meditative study of life in WW2 for African soldiers fighting for France, their colonial power. Takes time to flesh out the main characters so that you care about their fate. Highlights the racial and political issues without getting preachy. A fresh take for a well worn genre.

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  May 9, 2007

  RossCollinsUK

  Another WW2 movie in the post-"Saving Private Ryan" style, this time focusing on the plight of French-colonial North-African troops fighting to free France at the end of the war. By highlighting the injustices these soldiers faced I thought the plot would take on a wider scope - ... read moreusing the WW2 scenes as an introduction that lead to Algeria and Morocco's subsequent fight for independence. Instead, it dragged a single issue out over two hours, but still it's a good WW2 movie.

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  February 18, 2007

  dunmyer

  [size=3][size=3]Indigenes is a beautiful, fiercely humanistic, fiercely uncompromising film that no one should miss.[/size][/size]
  
  [img]http://www.cineleparc.be/img/movies/movie_289[/img]
  
  [size=3]Indigenes is French for The Indigenous, but the film's official American title i... read mores Days of Glory. It is rich and powerful, with an absolutely stellar cast and major historical importance to boot.[/size]
  
  [size=3]This film is deeply satisfying just as a story. You don't have to care a whit about history to be swept up by it. But on top of its quality as a drama, Indigenes has profound historical significance as the first major film to expose the outrageous and disgusting racism in white French society during the World War II era (and I'm sure still today).[/size]
  
  [size=3]In the United States, white folks degrade black Americans. In France it's the Algerians, and North Africans in general, who get the subhuman treatment. Every culture seems to have a caste-like stratification, where a certain group desperately tries to turn itself into a privileged caste and render another group inferior. The French, it appears, have as much to be ashamed of as Americans on this score. Although they probably didn't murder and torture their subjugated caste with quite the gusto American racists did. I'm sure no one beats Americans there![/size]
  
  [size=3]The film follows the experiences of a regiment in WWII from Algeria, a colony just across the Mediterranean from France. They fight one battle in Africa and then are shipped to France to continue fighting there.[/size]
  
  [size=3]The soldiers are initially devout in their support of the war effort. But as the indignities they face mount, their faith corrodes. And for good reason. I'm surprised they didn't rebel openly and start killing the French. They certainly would have been justified in doing that.[/size]
  
  [size=3]As an example: all the white regiments got leave occasionally, allowing them to visit family or live it up in Paris. The Algerians spent the entire war without getting even one day off! White French men also conspired to prevent Algerians from befriending any white women. When one soldier meets a white woman in Marseille and tries to write her, all his letters are destroyed by the censors. He thinks the woman is ignoring his letters, when in reality she has never gotten them. [/size][size=3]The white woman, incidentally, suffers the same fate. She tries writing him, but her letters aren't delivered either.[/size]
  
  [size=3]And that's not the worst of it. The final humiliation coming in the last 15 minutes of the film is the worst of all. I won't give it away.[/size]
  
  [size=3]I am presuming that the accusations the film makes are true. Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions. But I know quite a bit about France. I've even lived there. I'm reasonably confident that the filmmaker is not wide of the mark.[/size]
  
  [size=3]The cast, made up mostly of Arabic-speaking men, was absolutely phenomenal. At one point, during a particularly tough battle scene, I started crying, but not out of empathy for the characters and the death that was all around them. I was crying because the acting was so out-of-this-world.[/size]
  
  [size=3]I have no idea where they found these Arab men. But every one of them has the capacity to become major film stars, especially the man that played the most senior Algerian officer. His character was one of the only literate Algerians, and he struggled the most to win acceptance as an equal. His disillusionment with the ideals of the French Revolution is perhaps the most crushing, because he believed the lies the most.[/size]
  
  [size=3]No one does hypocrisy better than white people who proclaim democratic ideals in one breath and then subjugate an entire race in the next breath. This lesson hits the educated Algerian the most violently. Everything he was ever taught in Algeria about the benefits of joining French civilization was a mountain of lies.[/size]
  
  [size=3]Do your best to remember this actor's name: [/size][size=3][color=#000000][b]Sami Bouajila.[/b] Not just a character actor who is Sean Penn's equal, this man also has the bodily charisma to be a leading man of major proportions. I can see him being the first Arab James Bond! Wouldn't that be thrilling? The world needs more Arab movie stars.[/color][/size]
  
  [size=3]I'm going to do some research on all these men and see if I can learn something. It could be that they're major stars in the Arabic-speaking world and I have no idea. That wouldn't be a surprise, given that Americans get no information about Arab culture outside of war zones.[/size]
  
  [size=3]A word about the title: The distributor decided to release the film in the United States under the hackneyed title Days of Glory. Haven't there been 1000 war movies with a title like that? I think Indigenes would have been a far more interesting and unique title. But perhaps the more cliche-sounding moniker will help sell the film in America. I'm fine with dumbing down titles if it brings in more people. No one will be able to escape the power of this film if we can just get them into the theater.[/size]
  
  [size=3]*************[/size]
  [size=3]Postscript a week later: I did some research on Sami Bouajila and found that he starred in a 2001 French movie called The Adventures of Felix, where he plays a gay guy with HIV. So he's got range![/size]

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• Jamel Debbouze as Saïd
• Samy Naceri as Yassir
• Roschdy Zem as Massaoud
• Sami Bouajila as Abdelkader
• Bernard Blancan as Sergeant Martinez
• Mathieu Simonet as Leroux
• Benoit Giros as Captain Durieux
• Mélanie Laurent as Marguerite
• Antoine Chappey as Colonel

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