DAYS OF GLORY

War movie
In Arabic and French with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
French Colonial Forces is a general designation for the military forces that were recruited from the French colonial empire from the late 17th century onwards. This military unit has played a substantial part in support of “mother France”.

In 1942 the Nazis occupied France while vast numbers of the French army were imprisoned in German camps. The colonies became the only source of a replacement army to continue the war effort in support of the Allies.

France conscripted its colonial citizens as soldiers from places such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. They were treated as second-class citizens, referring to them disparagingly as 'indigènes. Senior N.C.O.’s (sergeants and above) and all officers were native Frenchmen.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jamel Debbouze: Private Said, an illiterate Algerian peasant
Sami Bouajila: his superior, fellow countryman Corporal Abdelkader
Roshdy Zem: Messaoud, the company marksman
Samy Naceri: the scrounger Yassir
Assaad Bouab: his younger brother Larbri
Bernard Blancan: squad leader, Frenchman Sergeant Martinez

REVIEW
Several things sets this war movie apart from the others:

It is about a little known aspect of World War II
Very believable (except perhaps for the romantic sub-plot)
No high-tech effects are used

On the other hand, it also shares some of the things we see in better movies:

Excellent performances by the principals
Great cinematography
Crisp editing

CLASSIFICATION
for war violence, brief language.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS

Drama
In German with Enlish subtitles

BACKGROUND
The Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Ministry for State Security), commonly known as the Stasi,was the main secret police and intelligence-gathering organisation of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The Stasi was widely regarded as one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world with some 100,000 employees and as many as 200,000 informers.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Ulrich Mühe: Captain Gerd Wiesler, Stasi interrogator and surveillance specialist
Ulrich Tukur: his superior Lieutenant Colonel Anton Grubitz
Sebastian Koch: playwright Georg Dreyman
Martina Gedeck: his actress-girlfriend Crista Maria Sieland
Thomas Thieme: Minister of Culture Bruno Hempf

REVIEW
A really good film with great acting and a well-written story that does not seem contrived. Although it is somewhat lengthy (2 hours and 17 minutes) it does not seem that long as we are intrigued by the unhurried approach given to developing the character of the principals.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexuality and nudity.

MY DAUGHTER MY ANGEL

Drama
In French with English sub-titles

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Michel Côté: Germain Dagenais, a political advisor
Karine Vanasse: his 18-year old daughter Nathalie
Dominique Leduc: her mother Jeanne
Laurence Leboeuf: Natalie’s best friend Angélique
Christian Bégin: Detective Michel Desrennes

REVIEW
Parents have a difficult time, even well-to-do ones who can afford to send their children to law school. We get to see how one family deals with some major issues and the impact these have on their relationships.

Excellent acting by Nathalie and her father, coupled with solid camerawork makes this a very compelling film.

CLASSIFICATION
for scenes of nudity, sexual content and brief explicit sex.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
During a discussion with her father, a strand of hair gets caught in Natalie’s mouth. The scene changes to focus on her father and then back to her. Her hair is nicely combed and nothing is amiss. The change of viewpoint repeats once more but now the strand of hair is back in her mouth.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

War
In Japanese with English sub-titles

BACKGROUND
Iwo Jima is a tiny, barren, desolate, volcanic island located about 550 miles south of Tokyo and was the last remaining outpost of the homeland. To the US, the island’s importance lay in its location, midway between Japan and American bomber bases in the Marianas. Beginning in the summer of 1944, the Japanese home islands had been hit by strikes carried out by long-range B-29 bombers. However, the Americans had no fighters with enough range to escort these big superfortresses so many aircraft were lost to Japanese fighter-interceptor attacks.

Iwo Jima, with its three airfields, was ideally located as a fighter-escort station and as a sanctuary for crippled bombers returning from bombing raids over Japan. Both the Empire of Japan and the United States of America wanted control of Iwo Jima, but for entirely different reasons.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Ken Watanabe: Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, garrison commander
Tsuyoshi Ninomiya: Baron Nishi, former Olympic equestrian medalist
Kazunari Ninomiya: Private Saigo, conscripted former baker
Ryo Kase: Private? Shimizu, latest arrival and a bit of a loner

REVIEW
There have been few war movies seen from the enemy’s perspective. And there have been even fewer that have the air of realism to it (Das Boot comes to mind) but this one combines that with believable acting entirely in their language, not in poorly spoken English.

Unlike a lot of movies about international conflict, this one does not have an anti-war message about it. In fact it has no hidden agenda; simply showing us a group of people who are not all one-dimensional as the propaganda would have us believe.

The attention to detail is remarkable. For example the dimly lit caves and the muffled background noise of machines on the move recreates the situation to the point we almost can feel it ourselves. Despite the fact it is lengthy (2 hours and 20 minutes) it is compelling viewing and does not seem that long.

CLASSIFICATION
for graphic war violence.

P.S.
The Mark-II hand grenades used by the allies were primed to explode by releasing the safety lever in the process of throwing the ordinance. By contrast the Japanese Type 91 hand grenades were armed by striking the firing pin against an hard object, frequently the soldier’s helmet, which set off the primer and ignited the delay mechanism.

VOLVER

Drama
In Spanish with English subtitles

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Penélope Cruz: Raimunda, cleaning lady at the Madrid airport
Lola Dueñas: her younger sister Sole, a hairdresser
Yohana Cobo: Raimunda’s teenage daughter, Paula
Blanca Portillo: family friend and neighbour Agustina
Antonio de la Torre: Raimunda’s husband Paco
Chus Lampreave: Raimunda and Sole’s elderly Aunt Paula who lives in La Mancha
Carmen Maura: their mother Irene
María Isabel Díaz: Raimunda’s friend Regina, a prostitute

REVIEW
With so many women in the film (and hardly any men) you have to pay attention to the many characters and their relationship to one another. But it is worth the effort to see the fine performances and range of emotions by several.

Part murder mystery, part comedy, it is an entertaining show. However, it is too long, by about half an hour, as several tangents lead nowhere and only serve to drag it out a bit.

CLASSIFICATION
some sexual content and language.

P.S.
Volver: a Spanish verb meaning to turn, to return, to go back.
Mojito (pronounced mo-hee-tow): a rum cocktail served with mint and lime juice