Take one part GLORY (Edward Zwick, USA, 1989), two parts SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1998), a pinch of A SOLDIER'S STORY (Norman Jewison, USA, 1984), stir in a dash of French bitters and pour into a Colonial carafe. Say a prayer to Allah and take a sip. You're enjoying a drunk Rachid Buchareb calls INDIGENES.
Exploring the exploitation of French colonials in Algeria and Morocco during World War II, INDIGENES takes its title from the politically correct term for Africa's indigenous peoples. To the less enlightened, these men--though they be brave of heart--are dark of skin and know more commonly by the derisive term "wog." Denied promotion, leave, honor, and tomatoes, these men still strive to defend their wicked step-Motherland against the Germans.
We follow a group of four "wogs" during campaigns in Italy and France. Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila) is an idealist Corporal who gained his rank through study rather than battle. Yassir (Samy Naceri) hopes to earn money to help his beloved brother get married. Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), the sharpshooter, falls for one of the women in a town he helps to liberate. And, Said (Jamel Debbouze) is a bumpkin with a heart of gold who learns the harsh realities of life.
These men are lead by Sgt. Martinez (Bernard Blancan) who bumps his head on the glass ceiling that his white colonial masters have put in place. However, he's in a much better spot than his men as he's a Christian and a Moroccan while his men are Algerian Muslims. These men are the first to die in battles and the last to be shown appreciation. Meanwhile, the French stand offsides during battles and force their rancid culture on their African "children" otherwise.
The performances are top notch and our main characters are some of the most dynamic and multifaceted that I've seen on screen in a while. A lack of screen direction during the battle scenes is disconcerting but, to the dismay of some war film aficionados, these scenes are infrequent. The blatant SAVING PRIVATE RYAN ending is a bit much but it does help bring closure to the film.
Exploring the exploitation of French colonials in Algeria and Morocco during World War II, INDIGENES takes its title from the politically correct term for Africa's indigenous peoples. To the less enlightened, these men--though they be brave of heart--are dark of skin and know more commonly by the derisive term "wog." Denied promotion, leave, honor, and tomatoes, these men still strive to defend their wicked step-Motherland against the Germans.
We follow a group of four "wogs" during campaigns in Italy and France. Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila) is an idealist Corporal who gained his rank through study rather than battle. Yassir (Samy Naceri) hopes to earn money to help his beloved brother get married. Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), the sharpshooter, falls for one of the women in a town he helps to liberate. And, Said (Jamel Debbouze) is a bumpkin with a heart of gold who learns the harsh realities of life.
These men are lead by Sgt. Martinez (Bernard Blancan) who bumps his head on the glass ceiling that his white colonial masters have put in place. However, he's in a much better spot than his men as he's a Christian and a Moroccan while his men are Algerian Muslims. These men are the first to die in battles and the last to be shown appreciation. Meanwhile, the French stand offsides during battles and force their rancid culture on their African "children" otherwise.
The performances are top notch and our main characters are some of the most dynamic and multifaceted that I've seen on screen in a while. A lack of screen direction during the battle scenes is disconcerting but, to the dismay of some war film aficionados, these scenes are infrequent. The blatant SAVING PRIVATE RYAN ending is a bit much but it does help bring closure to the film.