Forever Untold...Almost

DAYS OF GLORY

Rachid Bouchareb

Algeria

2006

With the local title as “Indigenes” or ‘indigenous”, literally in English, the movie is a visually sweeping wartime story of discrimination. Interesting nevertheless is the fact that this movie focuses on an internal war on an external historical background. This internal war is so relatively succulent, for discrimination has always been existent in any society, nation, or country. I love the inevitable manoeuvring of this internal war from the external war which is the world war, this makes the film expand its narrative and cinematic elements to a splendid experience accompanied by overwhelming cinematography. The war might be over but this war of discrimination is not yet ending, if not ending, as what the final scene of the film suggests when the old Abdulkader visited the tomb of his fellow Algerian soldiers at the bottom end of the cemetery hill while the one of their commander is located at the peak. I commend the film for being unpredictably non-victorious. While most of the films out there are gravely triumphantly-ended, and most of the better war films also critically acclaimed internationally also share a mate-ended finale, “Days of Glory” stood out because it talks about a different war. Yes there are hints of Communism versus Capitalism, the Allied forces versus the Axis powers, but it never came to a point to overpower the simple yet continuously unresolved ideological mechanic of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity—the French Revolution slogan—that is supposed to be achieved centuries ago.

“Days of Glory” started with the young Said, an Algerian native, convincing her mother to have him joining the French army, Algeria being obviously a colony of France. At the camp, he is surrounded by Abdulkader, the Algerian captain that serves as the superior of them indigenous soldiers but is of course inferior to their French chief. Said is a man who is content, or from a stand point of an ambitious man, he is a fool, a shallow-dreaming even non-dreaming fool content to be a peasant or a servant or a soldier of the lowest rank. He is a representation of the discriminated. Jamel Debbouze as Said, gave a respectable performance. The character he is playing has a greater chance of audience to get annoyed than to get moved, and I got the latter with his naïve performance. His death can be quite a statement though, that under-dreamers are doomed but a lovely character will always be redeemed before everything ends. Said dies as he is trying to aid their discriminating, bed-ridden French chief to escape, who he hopes to die after beating him when he learns that this French official has an Algerian origin but who Abdulkader wishes to be treated and survive until they win this war. The French chief is definitely the bad guy here. Hiding and ashamed of his indigenous past, he has no other direction but from up to the deepest down. Abdulkader, the Algerian captain who dreams of being promoted in the French army is the owner of the final point of view. He is the only who survived among the four Algerian soldiers excluding their French chief. This is another statement that the ones who dreams survive. I admire the twisting of this cliché. Obviously, Abdulkader only survived living until his white-haired age but surviving the battle he used to be fighting—no. But he generates the most important spark of life—hope. Abdulkader’s oldness at the final scene of the film poignantly denotes the timelessness of the battle against discrimination all for the elusive hands of fraternity.

I have always been conscious about points of views. Who possesses the eye, not just of the current scene or sequence but of all the totality of the film? The fewer or the more consistent the point of view is the better the film becomes because they always add to the clarity of what the characters really want, if they have really developed, or if they have really achieved or failed their objectives. Other than that, the more restricted the point of view is, the more attached we become to the characters—look at how people love Harry Potter, Forrest Gump, or even Jamal of Slumdog Millionaire, which inspite of having a lot multi-layered time frame still managed to have a very solid point of view. I usually hate or even despise films with point of view from all over the place, though there are multi-character films that really requires multi point of view so they are exceptions for there are artistic logic for those. In “Days of Glory” the switching of the point of view from Said at the beginning to Abdulkader at the end is one of the most awesome workaround for the point of views I have ever witnessed. The transfer of this subtle cinematic element is realized through the evolution of a discriminated person—Said, who doesn’t want to dream to a discriminated but hopeful person—Abdulkader, and this evolution is what every single discriminated person needs to undergo.

The film has been really good at least for me in a lot of unbelievable ways that I even want to think that this film is made for my cinematic satisfaction. The struggles that these indigenous soldiers are suffering under the same flag they are fighting for, the discriminating offenses to their part from the native French are narratively smooth and proper. I have never spotted a single one that looks and feels so forced that you would think hyperbole in poetry, mediocrity in drama and soap-operas in popular media join together to describe the scene. The scene in the navy ship hall where Algerian soldiers are not given tomatoes because they are only intended for the native French soldiers has a very light and successful yet serious feel. Abdulkader stand up for his fellow Algerians protesting that they also want tomatoes to their French chief, the motivational mother bedrock is serious and the tomatoes are delightful, the first ranting crowd then cheering crowd excites up the battle of tomatoes creating the first evidence in the film that people no matter what time in this million of years living planet has lived by never really became unvisited by humour. For entertainment, the soldiers are given a chance to see a dance show—a ballet show where almost all of the Algerian soldiers walked out. Abdulkader once again stands up against the French chief regarding about the entertainment they are providing who are only really meant for the European French and not for the Muslims, or Africans who they are. This is when Abdulkader, made a promise for himself and all of his fellow Algerians that they are not going to stop until they receive what the French are supposed to be fighting for—Liberty, Equality, and most of all Fraternity.

Alsace, is an important town. Whoever between France or Germany gets hold of that town gets almost ten times advantage in the war. The 7^th Infantry Battalion settle to go and venture but almost halfway the journey, they are trapped into enemy’s landmines. Now that there are only five of them remaining, Abdulkader leads the three remaining able Algerian soldiers. They made their way bravely to Alsace finding the place deserted and worn out by the previous encounter with few villagers happy about their arrival. All they need to do is to protect and guard that small town until back-up French troop arrives. Days are supposed to pass, and enemies are suppose to get closer and closer until one day, the four Algerian soldiers Abdulkader, Said, Messaoud, and Yassir, has to prove they are not fightingin vain and most importantly for Abdulkader, this is a battle that will declare his leadership more than enough to be recognized even better than what the other promoted French captains have done. Four men with the usual armaments they can carry against the five dozens of enemy with extra and heavy arsenals will only win if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jackie Chan is Abdulkader, but since they are not, destiny has been kind enough to spare the brave Algerian captain’s life until the French reinforcement come. At the aftermath, with the hundred of French soldiers finally getting hold of Alsace, Abdulkder just walks in anonymity. Very much the opposite of what is supposed to happen as he visualized. This scene of uncertainty, personal and original failure in the midst of military success, is heartbreaking.

Rachid Bouchareb’s film is the most visually stunning war film I have ever seen. The respect for rhythm and passionate editing showed well especially in scenes where bombs and guns and even human meats are exploding. The film is generally quiet; it is not overloaded with music. Sound is also respectable. I do not wish to elaborate on editing and music for I must admit I don’t really know much about it. I wish to comment on its cinematography. The greenish-earthy to melancholic yellow to the dull rocks made stunning with African sun hitting the rough surfaces of rocks all sum up to the equatorial beauty of this heartbreaking yet inspiring story. Every frame is so vividly alive, I didn’t watch it in the best television set in the world or in any high-end movie equipment but I still can tell and feel the life captured in every single scene.

“Days of Glory” is a genuinely excellent film, and I extremely mean that. Despite the fact that it is based on a life story, the story still manages to provide a cinematic narrative. The characters are adorable especially when you recognize that they are not just their individual selves but they are every man and woman who feels the same evolving way throughout the history of mankind. This beautiful reflective realization has been made even more beautiful by its outstanding filmic manipulations by its director and all the other geniuses who worked on this 21^st century masterpiece. This film is an artistry emblazoned in the most powerful of cinema.