Review of Days of Glory (2006) by Emsal H — 16 Jul 2008

French cinema rarely receives the addition of films into the war genre, resulting from a national taboo on their nation's appallingly lacklustre efforts in the Second World War. 'Days of Glory' then is a doubly brave effort, not only exposing the fighting spirit of the French notably after the Allies began to win, but also in exposing the racism that met the army's 130,000 colonial troops.

The story is a standard war film template, tracking the experiences of a group of low ranking infantry through the course of the war and showing the impacts of the continuing injustices they face. The are significant differences to the usual story though. The fact that the group are a different religion means any romance with the 'natives' is awkward and uncomfortable, while the camaraderie is stronger between the men because of it, and because they come from a country that isn't structured into classes. What we see is a much more detailed and equal examination of war experiences, as each man starts off essentially the same but eventually becomes affeted in different ways. It's a dignified and passionate treatment of the colonial's experience that skillfully avoids cliche and sentimentality.

Though there is a noticeable lack of large scale action, director Rachid Bouchareb wisely saves this until the group have become completely isolated. The final stand off in a destroyed village is a classic war film set piece, made all the more poignant and heartbreaking because, by now, these characters are shown to be the true bravery of the French Army and it is their own skill and courage in battle that has landed them in such a fatal position.

As with any modern war film there are inevitable comparisons with 'Saving Private Ryan', seemingly the only war film people seem to think exists. The only real parallel is the chilling struggle of the final battle and the remembrance of the survivor at the war graves in the present day. This is exactly Bouchareb's final, enraged irony: in 'Saving Private Ryan' the final shots are comfortably wrapped up in the patriotism of the Stars and Stripes, but here Corporal Abdelkebar's lonely wandering through modern France, without a glimpse from a passerby, all the way up to his miserably tiny apartment, shows just how real veterans are treated in Europe. It's a huge gut punch, a shameful national injustice and a true consequence of war, far removed from its rose-tinted, misty-eyed romanticism. 'Days of Glory' is a remarkably passionate film, part great entertainment, part insight into a forgotten presence, whole damning indictment.