28/09/2007
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 120 minutes
Days of Glory follows the lives of a squad of Algerian soldiers who fought, like many North Africans, to liberate France after the Nazi occupation in World War II. The film begins with the recruitment of these soldiers and then follows their participation in various military campaigns, showing their struggle on the battlefield and off the battlefield.
The discrimination which was suffered by these soldiers by the French army is at the heart of Days of Glory, and the Algerian squad continually struggle to acheive equal treatment in the 'motherland'. Writer Rachid Bouchareb centres on four men specifically: the illeterate youngster Saïd (Jamel Debbouze), the misunderstood looter Yassir (Samy Naceri), lovestruck marksman Messaoud (Roschdy Zem) and their leader, the literate and ambitious soldier Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila). Sergeant Martinez (Bernard Blacon) an ostensibly pure Frenchman leads the squad.
The men first go into action against the Germans in Italy, a fantastically shot battle scene where they suffer heavy losses. But undoubtedly Days of Glory kicks into gear in the final half, especially in the emotionally harrowing final battle at a village in Alsace, where an ever-dwindling squad single-handedly attempt to defend the French citizens still alive. It is a tense, disturbing sequence similar to that at the end of Saving Private Ryan.
If there is one critcism to be made of Days of Glory it is that it sometimes feels as though the story is secondary to the film's political agenda. However, this was obviously a message which needed to be made as Jacques Chirac changed the previously frozen pension plan for indigenous veterans after viewing Days of Glory. And there is no greater testament than that.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Days of Glory is released on DVD in the UK on 24th September, 2007
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
