Days Of Glory (Movie Review)

Days Of Glory (action)
Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem
Direction: Rachid Bouchareb

DURING World War 11, there were a number of Algerian soldiers who fought for France against the Nazis. Till today, their contribution to the cause of liberty, fraternity, equality remains mostly unacknowledged and it was only after this film that the pensions of these soldiers which had been stopped midway was reportedly resumed. The film documents the heroism of these soldiers who may have fought shoulder to shoulder with the white men, but were denied equality. Not only were their rations and pay scale different, they were also denied promotions, despite their plea that bullets never differentiated amongst their targets in the battlefield. Their story of racism and indignity is primarily told through the experiences of four Algerian soldiers who stand up tall before the ravages of war and manage to hold on to a French town from the advancing Nazis, despite being low on ammunition and numbers. Completely denied their due, distanced from their families, the foursome continue to doggedly fight for a bunch of abstract principles...the only cause worth dying and living for. Gritty cinema; a great message: This is Saving Private Ryan with a whole new topicality attached to it, specially when the war against terror is being fought by multi-cultural, multi-national armies made up of natives and the white man. Watch out for the stirring performances by the four lead players. The film was Algeria's official entry for Best Foreign film at the Oscars and ended up winning accolades.