Days of Glory
(Indigénes)
In French and Arabic with English subtitles • Winner at Cannes this year of the prize for male ensemble acting and honored there as a film that "best reflects the reality of our world,” the latest by Rachid Bouchareb (Cheb, MVFF 1992: Little Senegal, MVFF 2001) is as powerful visually as it is emotionally. In World War II, 150,000 men from the former colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, called "indigenous," served as infantrymen for France against the Nazis, under the flag that had once waved over the revolution for liberté, egalité and fraternité ideals (and their accompanying benefits) not extended to France's North African brethren. Without cliché or gore, Days of Glory follows five soldiers through Europe to Alsace, where they face not only a German battalion but their own test of allegiance. It's a stirring, unsentimental epic with memorable performances, particularly by Sami Bouajila as a born leader tragically mistaken for a mere rebel. Not to be missed. — F. Loden
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Producer: Jean Bréhat, Jamel Debbouze, Jacques-Henri Bronckart, Muriel Merlin
Screenwriter: Olivier Lorelle, Rachid Bouchareb
Cinematographer: Patrick Blossier
Editor: Yannick Kergoat
Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Nacéri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan, Mathieu Simonet, Benoît Giros, Mélanie Laurent, Antoine Chappey, Assaad Bouab, Dioucounda Koma, Philippe Beglia
Print Source: The Weinstein Company/IFC Films
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New York, NY, 10014
Tel: 646.862.3812
