Few war films really capture the full flavour of the second world war. They are either too dramatic / heroic or their focus is too much about personality. This has the perfect balance of emotions. The oppression of overseas conscriptions is the second layer of the plot that keeps the film compelling but for me it is the very real feeling of being in a chaotic battle situation with death randomly about and a sense of helpless under-preparedness. Fierceomly well acted.
General de Gaulle’s appeal to the French colonies to help liberate France from German occupation in the Second World War was answered by thousands of men who had never set foot in France and who came to learn at first hand about the ambivalent attitude of the colonial powers towards the “foreign” soldiers who fought alongside their men. It’s an excellent film which takes a cool look at notions of equality and race whilst delivering some gripping battlefield sequences amid the shattered landscapes of occupied Europe that echo the ending of “Saving Private Ryan.” At first the men are anonymous in their battle fatigues but by the end, as the unit is thinned down in time-honoured style, you care much more about their fate than their military masters seem to.
quite a good atempt to tell a story of the french 'agerian/morrocan' troops that 'volutered thereselfs during the 2nd world war, well assembled and told, good action scences but not outstanding, but the storys the point,these guys where basicaly ignored for the willing assistance to help the 'mother country' france
not unlike us and our way we have treated these people,the sieks for example, even now this is still going on,,,well worth a watch,and it does give a understanding from all angles of the disgust felt by these guys(presumably) and leaves a bad taste of humanity.
thankfully not too grusome with the blood,,unlike ryan