Days Of Glory (Indigenes)

The vogue for grainy verite and faux-monochrome in the post-Private Ryan war film has become so ubiquitous that one is constantly surprised watching the old-fashioned grammar of Days Of Glory. Forsaking CGI for real tanks and actual extras, Rachid Bouchareb’s exemplary Oscar-nominated drama follows the experiences of four young Algerian soldiers, members of the French Army’s “indigenous forces” in the late stages of World War II. Even in the fraternité of combat, the North Africans are fighting for noble republican ideals not afforded them as ‘indigénes’ (natives). An army chef refuses to serve them the same food as their French comrades. Letters from Messaoud (Zem) to his French girlfriend are censored and destroyed by the authorities. The irony is not lost on the educated corporal Abdelkader (Bouajila), nor on the cynical Moroccan brothers Nassir (Nacéri) and Larbi (Bouab) who remember how their families suffered during French ‘pacification’. Yet the men fight on in the hope that valor will bring independence. As mountain-boy Saïd (Debbouze) declares hopefully – “If I free a country, it’s my country.” Sadly, The Battle Of Algiers says otherwise, as does the 1959 French decision to freeze military pensions for countries moving toward independence. A law passed in 2002 promised them restitution, but no funds were made available until Jacques Chirac, the president of the republic, was sufficiently shamed by a screening of this moving, thoughtful film. Movies aren’t just for ogling Eva Mendes you know.