People have a tendency to view totalizing events such as World War II in terms of grand narratives. Thus, history becomes a series of dates and numbers rather than something remembered as a sum of personal experiences. Beginning with 1998’s Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, contemporary moviemakers have been privileging the personal, rebuking the jingoism of war pictures from the 1940s to 1970s. This is a world-wide trend as seen with movies like Enemy at the Gates (directed by a Frenchman and set in Russia), Downfall (directed by a German), Tae Guk Gi (directed by a Korean), and Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima (directed by an American looking at both sides of the WWII Pacific Theatre).

In general, the French like to perpetuate the myth that the entire country was involved in the Resistance or was in exile supporting de Gaulle during WWII. The reality is that Vichy France helped the Nazis deport Jews and other unfortunates to concentration camps. The reality is that Francois Mitterrand, one of France’s presidents during the 20th Century, was a Vichy collaborator. The reality is that France received significant logistical help from its colonies in Africa; approximately 200,000 men from France’s colonies joined the French army and helped liberate the “motherland”. Unfortunately, France discarded these men after the war, refusing to pay them their wages and pensions.

France’s shameful treatment of its colonial subjects is the subject of Indigenes (Days of Glory in the United States). The movie follows four North-African soldiers in various campaigns, all the while wearing sandals issued to them by the French even in the middle of bitter winter. Some of the soldiers hope to gain parity with white Frenchmen if they prove themselves on the battlefield. Some of the soldiers take the opportunity to hone their skills for upcoming fights for independence from European domination. They all become disillusioned, for their leaders espouse republican ideals while treating non-French people with contempt. The French are proud people, but they should not be so proud considering what they have done throughout history.

As with most “message” movies, Indigenes can be a bit heavy-handed at times. (It seems as if the director wants to imply that Arab soldiers freed France by themselves.) However, there are times when light needs to be shed on issues that have been buried by unjust forces. Indigenes provides insights into why Arab resentment of Europeans and Americans is understandable.

Yunda Eddie Feng