It is undeniable that the "Declaration of Liberty" is a wealth, fairness, freedom and dignity that France has brought to the world. This should be a basic right enjoyed by everyone, but in a multi-ethnic country like France, it may also be It cannot be achieved to a great extent. This is a kind of sadness, especially for the soldiers who fought heroically for the liberation of France and against the Nazis. This feeling is helpless, even a mocking betrayal.
Although the five important characters in the film have their own personalities and pursuits, they won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival at the same time. Obviously, this is a film of unity, and the unity of the Arab people is this film. 's top priority.
The story takes place at the end of World War II, that is, in the two years of 1944 and 1945, as French colonies Algeria, Morocco and other North African countries participated in the war, resisted the fascist aggression, but liberated their motherland - France. .
It's a seemingly unbelievable decision, and the colonists call France their homeland, but they'll never be French, and that goes through the film.
First of all, this group of North African soldiers was always sent to the forefront of the war. Although his bravery won the war, he paid a heavy price. More objectively speaking, they were actually assigned the task of death squad. . From ancient times to the present, there have only been two roles in this type of death squad. One is the deal of death row inmates, who are exempted from the death penalty but must fight with their lives on the battlefield. This is a kind of gambling, and the other is a kind of oath. Most of them are heroic spirits displayed for the sake of shocking the army. But these North African soldiers are neither, but a discriminatory practice. As a result, they became the earliest victims of the war under this discrimination.
But this kind of discrimination is far from this, such as the distribution of tomatoes, such as never setting foot on French soil, etc., all of which show that this group of North African soldiers is destined to not be recognized by the French, destined to be a group of abandoned troops.
For the freedom of France, but without dignity, this group of North African soldiers cannot understand, and this contradiction is rooted in the hearts of every soldier.
The corporal is a warrior full of idealism. He is naive to think that as long as he learns, he can be recognized by the French, so he fights heroically and seizes the time to learn. But the reality is always cruel. When he saw that the promotion can only be those French people, he was somewhat desperate. He knew that he could never be French. In the eyes of the French, he would always be an alien. . Although he hit a sergeant for this, in fact he never gave up this fantasy, so at the last moment of the film, when faced with danger, not only the courage to make a choice for him, but more importantly, a kind of Dignity and conviction, he knew he had to do something, it had nothing to do with whether he could integrate into French society or whether he could get a promotion, but just a symbol, a task that people could remember. But when the war ended, when all his brethren died, the presence of the French army did not give any praise to this group of Arabs, the French soldiers were under the camera of the reporter, and his dignity was not as he wished Satisfied in that way, he could only live in France, alone, enjoying the pain caused by the war.
The gunman was also a romantic, in his homeland he could not marry a French woman, and through the war, by fighting heroically for the liberation of France, he thought he could enjoy the same generational experience as the French, including with the French woman normal love. Although love still exists, the long-standing concept made the people in the military block the letter, so this love also disappeared as he lay down on the rocket launcher. This is a romantic tragedy, but it is a reflection of reality. Love is celebrated, but love is more of a symbol in the character of the gunman. Like the corporal's learning, it is a symbol, but this symbol is in the The discriminatory French are still pale in the eyes.
The thief is a typical realist, he doesn't have big ideals, he just wants to improve his life with the army, but when they come to the Christ whom the French believe in, he sees Jesus' crucifixion, which It's suffering without faith, it's a war about freedom. In this character, the director shows the equality and freedom in any religion with a very realistic brush. Thus, the thieves respect the religion of the French, which is in stark contrast to the discrimination against Arabs in the film. The thief also participated in the final battle at the instigation of the corporal, and when he died, perhaps there was no resistance to that kind of discrimination, all he had was heroism, only the desire for freedom.
Jamel's performance is still brilliant, and those who have seen "Amelie" and "The Queen's Quest" will certainly not forget the dwarf. In this film, his idea seems to be simpler, that is to liberate France, which is the only criterion, and does not want to prove or gain anything through this war. As a result, his silly appearance was recognized by the sergeant, but because of this, he was excluded from the Arabs and became a character who looked like a villain. But when he discovered the sergeant's secret, he realized that he was too naive. Feeling deceived made him reflect on why, as an Arab, he fought for the colonial masters. But the power of this reflection is extremely weak, and in the end he agreed with the corporal's decision, and finally gave his life in the process of rescuing the sergeant. He is a kind man, but his kindness and lack of desire are exactly what the French need. In other words, what the French want in this war are only soldiers, only weapons, not a person, no A man who could be French. Jamel's role is highly symbolic, and at the same time indicates the status of the colonial Arabs in the eyes of the French at the time.
The sergeant is a tragic figure who in the film is in direct conflict with these Arab soldiers. But when he confronted his superiors and said good things about his soldiers after every conflict, we just seemed to think this was a good officer. But Janeel's unintentional discovery brought the character's identity to full exposure, and his French identity was questioned, so he became like the corporal, and for the sake of dignity, he hid his identity, the tragedy of this performance The power was terrifying, indicating that at the time there seemed to be only one possibility that the French could recognize. This acknowledgment is a deception, like the professor in "The Stain of Human Nature," a terrible social concept.
The filming of the film is based on real events. It seems to tell the French not to forget this history. This is a group of heroes who have been forgotten by history. Their exploits should be praised, because they also paid a lot for freedom. But it doesn't get the respect it deserves. A great epic work about the freedom and dignity of the Arabs was born!
Han Xi
2007-3-15 in Tongzhou
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