[Glorious Years] set "standards" for [Assembly] in advance in many aspects, and judging from its qualifications for the 79th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomination, many aspects of this African film drawn in a low-key manner in mainland China, Both are very similar to [Assembly Number], ranging from a reflective theme to a small explosion and a picture.
Sitting in the movie theater, listening to the explosion of artillery shells of the Algerian Corps occupying German positions, I couldn't help but fight a big cold war for Director Feng Xiaogang.
The most pleasant thing about watching a movie like [Glorious Years] is that you can find many kinds of angles, and in turn, how much viewing angle a movie can bring to the audience may also affect its commercial or artistic success. No, now, the globalization of the film market brings more and more diverse audiences and also promotes the diversification of film creation, especially the rise of European films and Asian films, which more or less imitate the Hollywood way in the market , but in terms of artistic style and content, many movies are more prominent and unique, just like [Glorious Years] to [Saving Private Ryan], they did not win the Oscar (the 5 leading roles won the best actor award in total). ), not because it fits the criteria of a good movie in Oscar discourse.
In terms of nationality of production, it is an Algerian film, but in fact, everyone who has seen it will admit that this is a purely French film, and it can even be said to be a companion piece to [The Long Engagement].
French movies, I personally think, are closer to human nature than Hollywood movies, that is, they prefer to show stories at the human level, rather than discussing human nature after the world in the movie is clearly divided into good and evil. Just like after [Tiger's Mouth Escape], you can't find another such film, a nation that was once subjugated can narrate a humiliating incident that was almost exterminated from such a lovely and ridiculous perspective, French films and their The parts in the artist's head seem to be made up of too many elastic tissues.
In the [glorious days], the descendants of the French colonists who lived in Algeria and joined the French anti-Nazi army seemed to have long been forgotten by the "authentic French" had it not been for World War II.
But they are also Muslim Arabs, no matter how prejudiced the American-dominated world is against the similarity of Arabs to extremists, from World War II, when the Axis and Allies fought against each other. Judging from the contention of North Africa, especially the Arab countries, the justice, truth and civilization of Arab civilization have indeed played a considerable role in the victory of the just war in Europe and even the whole world.
And that's exactly what [Casablanca] and other Hollywood WWII films about the fighting in North Africa (such as the plethora of movies about tank battles in the North African desert) can't replace [the glory days]. Rarely do we find the name of a great hero among the fighters fighting the Nazis in Africa as we hear about General Patton, Marshal Zhukov or Mr Chiang Kai-shek, and in the [Glorious Years] French generals sent Algerian fighters to the forefront of enemy positions The method of warfare in exchange for German firepower is the most ruthless exposure and criticism of the past "glorious years" by the Algerian-French director Rachid Bouchareb. It is contradictory again, and the director constantly injects symbols such as "homeland" or "justice" into the film. After entering France to fight, the one-armed Said (played by Jamel Debbouze, who was a thief before) flew up to the French plane in the sky. The sincerity of shouting "Vive la France!" is still very touching, very very.
I even suspect that the reason why the director was so partial to this Syed, who was born a thief, was dumb-headed, and died instantly, was that the director was more or less the incarnation of his own soul into Syed.
It was a spiritual world full of glorious dreams and helpless.
I think this fits the fringe identity and mentality of a colonial or immigrant descendant.
In 2005, Japan's top and best movie was [Blood and Bone]. The director was Choi Yang-il, a descendant of Japanese-born Korean immigrants. Choi Yang-il has gone through hard work and has now become a giant in the Japanese film industry, but when he took out this film With infinite sincerity [Blood and Bone], people are not all moved by the artistic value or storyline of the film, but by the complicated and contradictory marginal identities and marginal mentality of the descendants of immigrants hidden in the depths of the film. Moved, maybe sympathy, maybe admiration, maybe there are many unspeakable emotions.
Said and his company brothers in [Glorious Years] reminded me of Kitano Takeshi in [Blood and Bone].
[Blood and Bone] shows a marginalized group in the alternative struggle history, and [Glorious Years] is not it - at the end of the movie, a corporal who wants to be promoted turns his back to his dead comrades and faces Xu The back of the French colonel who made a heavy promise but refused to fulfill it, re-started the journey of war, and also left an unanswerable question to the audience outside the movie, and even the entire human history:
life is born, struggle, end, but only to find to the way they came before, but where did some people come from?
At the end of [Blood and Bone], Takeshi Kitano died, his son buried him in North Korean soil, and he died in a depressed homeland who was once rich and rich. You can't tell whether his life was a tragedy or a comedy .
At the end of [Glorious Years], in 2005, 60 years after that battle, the aged corporal returned to the French town of Alsace, where his comrades were buried. His life was not over. He watched the tombstone disappear 60 years ago. The vivid names of the people - the biggest tragedy is that 60 years ago, this special ethnic group's bloody search for the origin still has no end.
French President Chirac said: "This feature film is a tribute to the French African troops in World War II. They left us with courage and a brotherly friendship between nations. This spirit is worth sharing and cherishing for a long time." In fact, this politician Only half right.
View more about Days of Glory reviews
