Indigènes

This is a great movie about the role of North African soldiers who fought for France in World War II, its a topic that I was reminded of recently. My parents and I visited the grave of a great Uncle on my fathers side in Ypres, Belgium, who most likely dies in the World War I battle of Passchendaele. It was an experience that affected me, and I think all of us, more deeply than we expected. 

 

In the huge war memorial at Menin Gate there were dozens and dozens of names which were clearly not European. They were those of the Indian sub continent, Indians, Pakistanis and the famous Ghurkas. While was strange to see the Australian graves there, for some reason it felt even stranger that these young men would fall so far from home.

Anyway, this movie follows the men from recruitment until the last throes of the war, and it was clearly aimed at raising awareness of the sacrifices such men made despite the discrimination they faced. I’m sure it was an experience common to all those who enlisted from the “Colonies”.

If anything let the film down it was the final sequence, where the men were sent to hold a bridge until the Americans could arrive. Along the way a mine cut through their ranks, leaving just 5 of them behind. I found it hard to believe that, even with the mine incident aside, such a small number of men would have been sent for such a task. It did allow for the inevitable “fight to the last” against enormous odds and to focus on the lead characters.

In the end, probably like all soldiers, they were fighting for no more than the man standing next to them.

The final frame of the movie is poignant, and in fact made a real difference. It made people aware of the policy of successive French governments to freeze the war pensions of the Indigenes. It was only after the film’s release that the government policy was changed so that their pensions were brought into line with what French veterans are paid. Of course too late for many.

The Ghurkas faced similar discrimination.

Technorati tags: World War I, indigenes, movie Review

Zwartboek

Tonights movie was Zwartboek (yup, I’m watching a stack of movies with Petra away). Its a movie that I had heard lots about, naturally because it’s Dutch. Set at the end of World War II, it follows a Jewish women (Rachel Stein / Ellis de Vries) who has managed to hide from the Nazis until almost the very end. Losing her hide out, and then her family, she finds herself at the centre of the Dutch Resistance.

It is a really good movie, one of those that starts well, perhaps goes on a little too long, but then picks up for a great finish. The plot of the movie is one you have seen before, but there are eventually enough twists to keep you guessing right through.

I was a little disturbed about the humanisation of the character Müntze, the Captain of the SD (intelligence service of the SS), whom I’m sure was responsible for his share of occupier inflicted misery. Ellis falls in love with him while spying for the resistance, possible of course, but for me a little shallow and a bit of a distraction. He eventually dies in a way that makes you feel sorry for him, though I think justice would have caught up with him eventually.

The final final scene is also interesting, finishing in Israel in 1956, where there are Israeli soldiers surrounding the Kibbutz she now lives in. Gunfire and explosions are going off in the background. I’m not sure what the intention of this finale was, whether we are meant to feel sorry for her for not being able to escape war, of if we are to feel sorry for the region thrust into it as a result of European conflict. I think it was the former, but not for me.

The Breach

The Breach is based on a true story, that of the worst case of espionage ever experienced by the US. Robert Hanssen sold secrets to the soviets for years from the safety of his high level job in the FBI. Overall it wasn’t a bad movie, historically it was interesting, though of course I’m sure Hollywood had its way with the truth, and it was generally pretty believable. Of course I had a massive chuckle at the scene where Robert Hanssen went through the FBI datacentre sprouting all sorts of tech related terms and acronyms in sentences that made as much sense as a teletubby episode.

A common weakness in this sort of movie, and one that for me left me feeling pretty frustrated, is of course the weakness of the main leads girlfriend. Far from being supportive they always seem to find it difficult to accept that as an FBI (or secret) agent there are things about his day job that he just cant talk about. This whole aspect of the movie just went too far, with the girlfriend going to the point of deception to try and find out what her boyfriend was up to. Maybe its just because this seems to ruin nearly every movie involving a dedicated, patriotic, all round American good guy secret agent, but it just never feels like the girlfriends reaction is reasonable, like if you were in that position that YOU would feel that way too….

But maybe that is just me….any girlfriends of secret agent out there care to comment?

Technorati tags: The Breach, Movie Review, Robert Hanssen, Espionage

Bra Boys

Documentary on an Aussie beach “tribe” called the Bra Boys. My brother mentioned it to me ages ago, only just got around to seeing it, not sure if he has yet (??).

Anyway, going into it I wasn’t sure what to expect, perhaps another look at this strange Aussie habit of carving hero’s out of those who are not always the most law abiding of citizens (Aussies love Chopper, I certainly loved the movie). In the end it felt a lot like a movie about surfing, which it seems, is pretty much all the Bra Boys do all day.

It was interesting to me to get a perspective on some of the things that have happened at home while I have been away. The 2005 Beach Race Riots in Cronulla for example, and even the Bra Boys themselves, who I had never heard of. The documentary (complete with Russell Crowe voice over)however came across a bit too much like marketing for the group, lots of “we’re just misunderstood” type undertones.

With that said, it seemed to me that the “leader” of the boys did have their “communities” interests at heart, even if they considered getting into running battles near their beach “protecting” their community. If the documentary is to be believed they also offered some of the local boys, in what is a very poor urban area, a sense of family, one in which drugs and smoking is forbidden in favour of surfing. It felt a little bit like what playing basketball is to young black men in “the ghetto”, with the guys who lead the Bra Boys actually being professional surfers.  

I will always be very nervous of any glorification of this type of group, I cant help but wonder what it must be like to be in their community and somehow find yourself on the wrong side of one of the boys.

Marky Mark…

Did a double-header movie night. Just watched Shooter (IMDB 7.1 (?!?), so I gave it a shot), I knew it would be bad and it didn’t let me down.

Anyone know how many “super human, amazing military man retires but is then convinced to return for one last mission” movies there have been? Is no one embarrassed about pitching these movie “ideas” in Hollywood? Who writes these things? Do the actors read it and go “Wow, this is AMAZING, how did you come up with this?”, I have got to be the guy who talks him into coming back from retirement. Oh please! please please please please.

It has a small completely predictable twist, but it also has slow motion sequences, the unbelievable and some really bad facial expressions. I think it was custom built for two audiences:

1) American “Deer Hunter” types

2) JFK Conspiracy Nuts (I mean that in a nice way)

If this was Marky Marks first movie, I would have suggested he stay with the Funky Bunch…

My ice cream was great though, Australian Home Made Belgian chocolate…confusing eh?

P.S. Oh yeah, and Mark, I always liked Heavy D & the Boyz better.

P.P.S. Yes, in future I will blog all my movies, that way I can search my blog to work out if I have seen them before or not…yes, my movie memory is THAT bad…

Just watched http://imdb.com/title/tt0486585/

Its all about the history of the word FUCK.

I initially couldn’t imagine how they could make an interesting documentary about just that word, but they did. It comes with a serious side, with them delving into recent actions of the FCC and how as a word it’s continuously butting up against freedom of speech.

Got me interested in learning a little more about a guy called Lenny Bruce.

Oh, and it was dedicated to Hunter S Thompson, so Cam, you would LOVE IT….

Technorati tags: Lenny Bruce, Free Speech