INTIMATE ENEMIES 2007
This French film from 2007 is one of the better films I've seen about the The French-Algerian War. This conflict started in 1954 and continued till 1962.
The French had just lost a war over a colony with the fight for Indo-China. They were determined not to lose another. The Algerian FLN fought a largely guerrilla war from the countryside. The French responded in kind with small unit teams combing the country. The war was known to be quite brutal with torture etc being used by both sides. The conflict was as much of a Civil War as it was an attempt to hold a colony. Many Algerians sided with the French and fought in French Army units.
This film starts out in the summer of 1959 in the inland mountains. A French platoon is based at an outpost charged with keeping the peace in the surrounding villages. They go out every day on patrol hunting groups of FLN guerrillas. Every so often they ambush the enemy and every so often they are ambushed. The war seems to be one long battle of attrition.
After the platoon Lieutenant is killed in a botched operation, the unit receives a fresh officer right out of France. The new man, Benoît Magimel, is soon in conflict with the unit's veteran Sergeant, Albert Dupontel. Dupontel, who had been in Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong, knows one has to be as hard as the enemy is. The Lieutenant learns quickly when the platoon gets in a battle with a FLN group smuggling weapons. The FLN had all been dressed as women and had nearly gotten by the patrol till the veteran, Dupontel, spotted the deception.
The following weeks sees the platoon engaged in several firefights with various FLN groups. During one of these fights, the French come close to being wiped out. They need to call in air support which hit the FLN with some large napalm bombs. Afterwards the patrol captures a man for questioning. The local intelligence officer is soon at work with batteries and electric cables. This of course does not go well with the new officer, Magimel. The method though proves effective and valuable information is collected.
Every night the men at the outpost get stinking drunk and count the days till they get back to France. When one of the patrols finds a friendly village massacred, they respond in kind on another village. The war is boiling down to one bloody event leading into another. Needless to say there is not going to be a happy ending here.
This film is well worth looking up in my opinion. The cinematography is excellent and the battle scenes well handled. The air support action is top-flight with De Havilland Vampire aircraft dropping the napalm.
This French film from 2007 is one of the better films I've seen about the The French-Algerian War. This conflict started in 1954 and continued till 1962.
The French had just lost a war over a colony with the fight for Indo-China. They were determined not to lose another. The Algerian FLN fought a largely guerrilla war from the countryside. The French responded in kind with small unit teams combing the country. The war was known to be quite brutal with torture etc being used by both sides. The conflict was as much of a Civil War as it was an attempt to hold a colony. Many Algerians sided with the French and fought in French Army units.
This film starts out in the summer of 1959 in the inland mountains. A French platoon is based at an outpost charged with keeping the peace in the surrounding villages. They go out every day on patrol hunting groups of FLN guerrillas. Every so often they ambush the enemy and every so often they are ambushed. The war seems to be one long battle of attrition.
After the platoon Lieutenant is killed in a botched operation, the unit receives a fresh officer right out of France. The new man, Benoît Magimel, is soon in conflict with the unit's veteran Sergeant, Albert Dupontel. Dupontel, who had been in Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong, knows one has to be as hard as the enemy is. The Lieutenant learns quickly when the platoon gets in a battle with a FLN group smuggling weapons. The FLN had all been dressed as women and had nearly gotten by the patrol till the veteran, Dupontel, spotted the deception.
The following weeks sees the platoon engaged in several firefights with various FLN groups. During one of these fights, the French come close to being wiped out. They need to call in air support which hit the FLN with some large napalm bombs. Afterwards the patrol captures a man for questioning. The local intelligence officer is soon at work with batteries and electric cables. This of course does not go well with the new officer, Magimel. The method though proves effective and valuable information is collected.
Every night the men at the outpost get stinking drunk and count the days till they get back to France. When one of the patrols finds a friendly village massacred, they respond in kind on another village. The war is boiling down to one bloody event leading into another. Needless to say there is not going to be a happy ending here.
This film is well worth looking up in my opinion. The cinematography is excellent and the battle scenes well handled. The air support action is top-flight with De Havilland Vampire aircraft dropping the napalm.