Days of Glory is a film that not only depicts the French side of World War Two, but more importantly focuses on the prevalence of racism and discrimination within the French Army itself. Since the main characters of the film are from Africa and are Muslims, the story has a much different perspective than if it was told by a Frenchman. The main group consists of Said, Messaoud, Yassir, Corporal Abdelkader and the French Sergeant Martinez. From the very beginning the film shows the expendability of the Africans, as they are forced into a dangerous confrontation in the mountains, simply so the French Commander can identify the artillery stations of the enemy. A number of the African troops are killed, yet the white military correspondent tells the press that the battle was a “great victory.” One of the conflicts between races in the film happens in the cafeteria and is about something as simple as tomatoes. The cooks do not allow the Muslim men to have any tomatoes an.jpg)
d in an act of defiance, Corporal Abdelkader smashes the crates of tomatoes and demands that the Africans have equal rights to the food. Throughout the film, he is the patriot for equality who represents the Africans, and they are eventually allowed to have any food that they want. While in France, Messaoud begins a romantic relationship with a French woman. Their romance eventually ends when his letters are censored and they have no means of communication. When Sergeant Martinez’s assistant dies, Said replaces him and is constantly harassed by the other soldiers because of it. They call him names like “wog,” a derogatory slang word for Africans and “aicha,” meaning slave. This part of the film shows the discrimination that took place even among the soldiers and fellow Muslims. Next, two major events take place in the film. The first event is when Said discovers that Sergeant Matinez’s mother is a Muslim as well. When Said mentions this to Martinez, Martinez is outr
aged and threatens to kill him if he ever tells his secret. It is incredible how ashamed he is about this detail of his life and constantly looks down upon the Muslims even though his own mother was one of them. A second major incident occurs when the Africans discover that the French soldiers are allowed leave to visit their homes and families while they are prohibited from going anywhere. In response to this racism, Abdelkader gathers a group together who demand justice be done. He is thrown in jail for his insolence and eventually is convinced to participate in a dangerous mission, along with the rest of his troops. Several of the men die along the journey to the battle, and after the fighting has ceased, only Abdelkader remains. Although the Africans held the Germans long enough for reinforcements to come and help with t
he victory, only white French soldiers stand next to the liberated villagers during a photo shoot that will inevitably be in a French newspaper. It is heartbreaking how the African soldiers fought with such bravery and heart, only to lose their lives and gain absolutely no recognition from the French government. The film fast-forwards in time many years later when Abdelkader returns to the gravesites of his former fighting companions. As if the Africans have not been through enough discrimination and unfair treatment, the movie closes by saying that the French government froze the pensions of the soldiers in 1959 before their countries were independent. This was an excellent film because it showed the numerous ways that racism and discrimination played a role in World War Two, while also providing insight into what the war was actually like.
This film provided French insight into the war in a number of ways. French soldiers referred to the German forces as “Krauts,” showing an obvious distaste for their enemy. I feel as if the French relate to their foes in a very stand-offish manner, keeping their emotional connections as humans to the Germans very limited, if at all. The only sympathy shown in the film for the Germans is that some of the French leaders demand respect be paid to the German dead when a few of their soldiers are being mutilated by their opponents. There is an obvious division in the French ranks between the Frenchmen and the Africans, even though they fight in battle together on a daily basis. This opposition, along with the bigger battle with the Germans, shows that the film represents more than one form of confrontation on the French side. Despite being treated poorly, the African have an enormous amount of loyalty to the French. They declare that France is their country now as well, and even when they are given the chance to forfeit the dangerous mission, they press on because they feel it is their duty to do so. As with any war, this film shows that there are numerous underlying conflicts and situations on the same side, besides the overall main conflict of World War Two.
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d in an act of defiance, Corporal Abdelkader smashes the crates of tomatoes and demands that the Africans have equal rights to the food. Throughout the film, he is the patriot for equality who represents the Africans, and they are eventually allowed to have any food that they want. While in France, Messaoud begins a romantic relationship with a French woman. Their romance eventually ends when his letters are censored and they have no means of communication. When Sergeant Martinez’s assistant dies, Said replaces him and is constantly harassed by the other soldiers because of it. They call him names like “wog,” a derogatory slang word for Africans and “aicha,” meaning slave. This part of the film shows the discrimination that took place even among the soldiers and fellow Muslims. Next, two major events take place in the film. The first event is when Said discovers that Sergeant Matinez’s mother is a Muslim as well. When Said mentions this to Martinez, Martinez is outr
aged and threatens to kill him if he ever tells his secret. It is incredible how ashamed he is about this detail of his life and constantly looks down upon the Muslims even though his own mother was one of them. A second major incident occurs when the Africans discover that the French soldiers are allowed leave to visit their homes and families while they are prohibited from going anywhere. In response to this racism, Abdelkader gathers a group together who demand justice be done. He is thrown in jail for his insolence and eventually is convinced to participate in a dangerous mission, along with the rest of his troops. Several of the men die along the journey to the battle, and after the fighting has ceased, only Abdelkader remains. Although the Africans held the Germans long enough for reinforcements to come and help with t
he victory, only white French soldiers stand next to the liberated villagers during a photo shoot that will inevitably be in a French newspaper. It is heartbreaking how the African soldiers fought with such bravery and heart, only to lose their lives and gain absolutely no recognition from the French government. The film fast-forwards in time many years later when Abdelkader returns to the gravesites of his former fighting companions. As if the Africans have not been through enough discrimination and unfair treatment, the movie closes by saying that the French government froze the pensions of the soldiers in 1959 before their countries were independent. This was an excellent film because it showed the numerous ways that racism and discrimination played a role in World War Two, while also providing insight into what the war was actually like. This film provided French insight into the war in a number of ways. French soldiers referred to the German forces as “Krauts,” showing an obvious distaste for their enemy. I feel as if the French relate to their foes in a very stand-offish manner, keeping their emotional connections as humans to the Germans very limited, if at all. The only sympathy shown in the film for the Germans is that some of the French leaders demand respect be paid to the German dead when a few of their soldiers are being mutilated by their opponents. There is an obvious division in the French ranks between the Frenchmen and the Africans, even though they fight in battle together on a daily basis. This opposition, along with the bigger battle with the Germans, shows that the film represents more than one form of confrontation on the French side. Despite being treated poorly, the African have an enormous amount of loyalty to the French. They declare that France is their country now as well, and even when they are given the chance to forfeit the dangerous mission, they press on because they feel it is their duty to do so. As with any war, this film shows that there are numerous underlying conflicts and situations on the same side, besides the overall main conflict of World War Two.
Additional Info:
- New York Times Review: http://movies.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/movies/06glor.html
- Boston Globe Review: http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=9752
- Facts about the crew, cast and plot: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444182/
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