[DVD Review R2] INTIMATE ENEMIES
Do you know a huge amount about the French-Algiers war? If so, then you’ve got one on me as I have to be honest and say I don’t really know that much about it, so I have no idea how factual or accurate this French movie, Intimate Enemies, actually is. What I can tell you, though, is what I though of the movie itself!
The movie tells the story of a platoon of French soldiers. During an early military engagement their commanding officer is killed by friendly fire and during his funeral his replacement, Lieutenant Terrien, arrives. He is young and idealistic and it’s not long before his point of view is clashing with the more cynical and experienced Sergent Dougnac (played by Albert Dupontel who starred in Chrysalis), and the methods employed by his new platoon.
But in time the conflict has an effect on Terrien and he becomes as ruthless and efficient at killing as his more experienced comrades.
In truth, this movie truly does show the horrors of war, possibly even more than something like Rambo does, as it shows the effect on a normal and caring man, who volunteered for his country, and how conflict and the horrors of war change him.
Both sides in the movie, the French and the fellagha insurgents, are guilty of brutality and director Florent Emilio Siri, who also co-wrote the movie, doesn’t shy away from showing either side engaging in horrendous activities.
The way in which wars change people is highlighted even more when Terrien has an encounter with one of his soldiers, Berthaut who is the intelligence officer/torturer, who reveals that he himself was a member of the French resistance during the Second World War and was captured and tortured by the Nazis but is now capable of doing the exact same things to the captured Arabs.
All of the actors in this movie do a superb job. Even though they are all engaged in a horrible conflict they are not charactures of soldiers or simple cyphers, instead they are well developed characters who have been changed by their activities for their country, and they could be any one of us.
This is a very moving, very thought provoking movie, and it has parallels with the current “war on terror” while at the same time being a history lesson into a conflict that for a lot of years has been shrouded in secrecy and denial.
Siri, who also directed Hostage starring Bruce Willis, does a fantastic job with direction, making the movie very tense and atmospheric and, while it is enjoyable to watch, it is never comfortable.
Would I rush to watch it again? Probably not, truth to tell. Am I glad that I have had the oppertunity to see it? Yes, indeed.
If you have an interest in history and the conflicts that have effected our world then this should be pretty high on your lists of movies to see. Not only is it thought provoking but it’s also a very well made and acted movie.
Extra Features
The two disc DVD comes with a host of extras, including interviews with the cast and crew and “Making Of’s”, all of which I would love to tell you are wonderfully interesting etc. Problem is, I can’t. Not that they are bad or boring. I just don’t know what they are like as my French sucks and there were no subtitles on the review copy I was sent!
Despite that, this is still a superb release. There is a cliche that “war is hell” and, while it is a cliche, it’s also true and this movie more than highlights that fact.
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