MM TV Review: The Pizza Parlor

For those too young to remember or those unfamiliar, “Hogan’s Heroes” was an American television comedy set in a German prison camp (Luft-Stalag 13) during World War II. The German officers are totally incompetent and the Allied prisoners basically run the place, outwitting their inept captors at every turn. The main characters are, not surprisingly, Americans with one French and one British member on the team (the pilot also had a Russian character which was dropped in the regular series, also not surprising given that this was the 60’s when the Cold War was in full force). The Allies use Stalag 13 as a base from which to launch guerilla attacks against the Germans and to help Allied personnel escape Nazi-occupied territory. Since they are on a mission, they never escape and since no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13 the hapless commander remains at his post, glorying in his perfect record while the prisoners thwart the German war effort right under his nose. This episode is one of two featuring a recurring Italian character. It is episode 22 from season 1, airing on February 11, 1966 and directed by Gene Reynolds.

The cast consists of Bob Crane as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, the senior Allied prisoner-of-war and their leader; Werner Klemperer as Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the clueless German commandant; John Banner as the comic Sergeant-of-the-Guard Hans Schultz; Robert Clary as French Corporal Louis LeBeau (their master chef); Richard Dawson as RAF Corporal Peter Newkirk (a London pick-pocket); Ivan Dixon as Sergeant James “Kinch” Kinchloe (the American radio operator) and Larry Hovis as Sergeant Andrew Carter the simple-minded American explosives expert. For this episode the special guest star was Hans Conried as the Italian Major Bonacelli. If it seems odd having an American with a surname like Conried playing an Italian, this was typical for “Hogan’s Heroes”. Most of the actors were Americans but it is interesting to note that every character on the side of Nazi Germany in the series (Colonel Klink, Sergeant Schultz, General Burkhalter) were all played by Jews. It was something like an ‘in-joke’ of the series, one of a number of ‘running gags’ the show was known for. Another one that viewers must be prepared for is the extreme use of stereotypes, especially when it comes to the Axis forces.

“The Pizza Parlor” opens with LeBeau preparing a feast in the barracks only to be interrupted by Sergeant Schultz who tells them that Colonel Klink is coming to inspect them and Colonel Hogan remarks that the Germans have been sending a number of officers to inspect their camp lately to learn from Colonel Klink because of his perfect record of never having had a successful escape. Klink arrives and informs them that Major Bonacelli is due shortly from “Capizzio” to study their security methods for use in his own prison camp. When taunted about telling a foreigner his secrets, Colonel Klink angrily reminds Hogan that, “…the Italians are our allies!” to which Hogan replies, “Don’t remind me, remind them”. A subtle nod to the fact that, at this stage in the war Italo-German relations were not at their most friendly and that many in Italy were never very comfortable about being allied with Germany. After the credits, Allied HQ tells Hogan that tensions between Germany and Italy are high and that the Allies are planning a major landing near Capizzio and that Hogan should try to get some information out of him. Hogan agrees but isn’t too hopeful, imagining Bonacelli to be a rough character.

We are then introduced to Major Bonacelli who has pulled a gun on his German driver, trying to force him to take him to Switzerland instead of Stalag 13. He is fed up with the war and just wants to escape. However, an Allied bombing raid sends the driver scurrying for cover and before Bonacelli can get away an escort arrives to take him to camp. After arriving at the camp. Hogan digs him about the Germans pushing the Italians around and notice how Bonacelli grimaces at hearing what the Germans are fixing for lunch (lots of potatoes and cabbage). Hogan and company decide that they can get to Bonacelli with sentimentality, music and food. So, they call the Allied submarine they report to, which connects them to London which connects them to Garlotti’s Pizzaria in Newark, New Jersey. It is run by the father of one of the men at Stalag 13. From him they get a recipe for pizza for LeBeau to make to tempt Bonacelli and finish by asking him to sing ‘Santa Luccia’.

Later that night, with wine, pizza and song, the Allies tempt Major Bonacelli over to their barracks and get him to tell them how many Germans are stationed in Capizzio. While he is eating, he mentions possibly going to the United States as he has no desire to go back to his post and fight for the Germans. Hogan then gets the idea to turn him and asks the Major to become an agent in Capizzio for the Allies. At first, he is reluctant, having no desire to be shot as a traitor if he is discovered but the Allies play on his sentimentality again, persuading him that he would be benefiting his country by shortening the war. Finally, Bonacelli agrees on the condition that he gets the recipe for the pizza he’s eating. However, the next morning, as he is saying his goodbyes to Colonel Klink, a truck arrives with the driver he had pulled his gun on during his trip to camp. He accuses Bonacelli of trying to desert and Colonel Klink orders him placed under arrest. To rescue their new secret agent, Hogan hatches a plan to make Klink think Bonacelli is firmly on the Axis side and a hero as well.

Just as Klink is reporting the incident to Berlin, Schultz rushes in to inform him that ten prisoners have escaped and that Major Bonacelli is missing. Klink flies into a panic at the thought of his perfect record being destroyed. The escapees, meanwhile, meet up in the woods and tell Bonacelli that he has to march them back to camp, thus becoming a hero in Germany and the savior of Colonel Klink’s reputation. Back at the camp, Klink is fuming that none of his search parties have been able to find the escapees anywhere, even putting one of the search dogs on report for not living up to the standards of a *German* Shepherd. Just then, all ten prisoners return, led by Bonacelli, marching in perfect order back into camp, whistling the theme song of the show in a little homage to 1957’s “Bridge on the River Kwai”. Major Bonacelli is welcomed as a returning hero and in the last scene of the episode, Klink calls in Hogan to read him a letter from the Italian major. Earlier, when Hogan was asking Bonacelli how many Germans there were in Capizzio, he did it by asking how many pizzas they ate, figuring two per soldier. In his letter, Bonacelli uses this as a sort of code, saying that he has put his prisoners to work making pizzas for the Germans and by relating how many they are making, Hogan knows the exact number of German troops to report to Allied HQ. Hogan gives a parting remark, saying sarcastically to Klink how “some people think the Italians aren’t with you all the way”.

“The Pizza Parlor” is a fairly typical “Hogan’s Heroes” episode and those who like the show will surely find it enjoyable. It is noteworthy for being one of only two episodes to feature a non-German Axis power. For Italians, the stereotyping may be hard to take but if you have a good sense of humor it shouldn’t be a problem. There are a few cracks about the Major being cowardly but his attempt to escape to Switzerland is shown to be more about his disgust with the Germans than a fear of danger. He mentions on his first day in camp that “you can push a people only so far” and seems about to say that soon the Italians would take no more abuse from the Germans but, viewing his surroundings, stops himself. He also keeps his word to the Allied prisoners and ultimately takes on the very dangerous assignment to become a secret agent. The premise is rather absurd but this is even commented on in the episode with Newkirk doubting that a pizza and a few bars of “Santa Lucia” is not enough to make a man switch sides in a war, this, of course, also being a subtle illustration that it was more than that which motivated Major Bonacelli to do what he did. For those who like the character, he returned later in the series in 1969 with the episode, “The Return of Major Bonacelli” (though played by a different actor) in which the Germans discovered that he was passing information to the Allies and Hogan and his men have to help their Italian friend escape to England.

MM Movie Review: Submarine Attack

“La Grande Speranza” (‘The Great Hope’) or in the English dubbed version, “Submarine Attack” or “Torpedo Zone” is a 1955 World War II naval drama about an Italian submarine in the North Atlantic on a standard war patrol but which, in the course of sinking Allied ships, collects a diverse group of survivors. It is a simple tale, well told (though the English dubbing leaves much to be desired and is best in the original Italian) with a very straightforward story. That is, if one can call it a “story” at all. There is not much to it really, however, it means to convey a simple message in a more subtle fashion, a message about war and peace and, as the original title indicates, a message of hope for the world that the problems between nations can be overcome. It was directed by Duilio Coletti and stars Lois Maxwell as British Lt. Lily Donald (the only woman in the film) who would go on to play Miss Moneypenny in fourteen 007 films, Renato Baldini as the Italian submarine captain (we are never told his name) and Folco Lulli as Nostromo, the First Mate. The film opens with a dedication to the men who lost their lives in the 91 Italian submarines that went to sea in World War II and never returned. We are also told at the outset that what follows is a true story, which it is, however not exactly. The events portrayed did occur but happened on various Italian subs at various times.

The submarine where our film takes place

We start with a submarine making an underwater attack on a freighter and then surfacing to pick up survivors. One man is injured, another is a very bellicose French resistance fighter and the other is a British woman, Lt. Lily Donald who, we learn later, is a war widow, having lost her fiancé at Tobruk at the hands of the Italians of course. Frenchie would be happy to get tossed back in the ocean and die for his country, but they are taken below and added to the collection of survivors the sub has already accumulated in the course of their war patrol. There is a British author of some note named Mr. Steiner who acts as spokesman, a Black American named Johnny Brown from Texas, a Dutch merchant captain and a rather odd, mercenary type fellow from South America. Everyone seems fine with their presence, though at least one Italian sailor notes that for every survivor taken on, the amount of breathable air decreases when the boat is forced to remain submerged due to enemy attack. Still, they all make the best of it and the survivors are not very restricted at all, conversing with the crew and being allowed to come up on deck for fresh air when on the surface.

The captain of the sub

Next night, the captain spots a ship, a large, armed, troop transport and the sub dives to make an underwater attack. However, when the torpedoes miss the captain decides to surface and take on the enemy vessel in an old-fashioned gunfight. They about have the ship finished off when aircraft appear and join in attacking the submarine. One of the Italians is hit by machinegun fire from an airplane but rather than being taken below, he insists on staying on deck to watch the captain sink the enemy vessel which is finally mortally wounded. As soon as he hears this, the wounded sailor passes away and as the captain gives the order to dive to safety, his body must be left behind. However, their diving planes have been damaged and are jammed in diving position, causing the sub to plunge deeper and deeper toward the limit when the water pressure will crush the hull like an empty tin can. Internal communications fail and all the while the Allied aircraft are continued to drop bombs on their position. They plummet deeper and deeper and blowing all ballast tanks and all auxiliary tanks has no effect. However, at the last minute, the diving planes are repaired and the boat is able to come to the surface.

Ready for surface action

We take some time out for some mundane activities, the crew missing home, the survivors dwelling on their state, a man getting a shave and so on. But, the next crisis breaks out when Frenchie attacks one of the Italian sailors and starts messing with the diving equipment in an effort to sink the sub. He is stopped of course and all is put back in order but some, like Lt. Donald asks the captain why the Frenchman was not punished. The captain only says that it is because he would have done the same if the roles had been reversed. After some more quiet time, the crew prepares special decorations and refreshments for Christmas, as a surprise for the captain. There is even a makeshift Christmas tree and some scarce champagne. The captain invites the enemy survivors to join the festivities, feasting, singing Christmas carols and even placing a tiny baby Jesus in a crèche. It is remarked upon, how the war seemed to have stopped and how this assortment of people, British, Italians, Americans and so on, can all get along despite their countries being at war (the Frenchman refuses to participate). This make it seem all the more bewildering when an Allied freighter is spotted and the Italian sailors swing into action to sink it.

Survivors on deck

The singing and dancing come to end as battle stations are manned and torpedoes are prepared. The sub races through the black, stormy night toward the target as the captain says if they can’t sink her before dawn, she will get away. They close in, fire two torpedoes and send the freighter to the bottom. A boat full of survivors finds the sub the next morning, the Italians being alerted to the new arrivals by the barking of a dog that was brought along. The survivors are Danish merchant sailors but the Italian sub has no more room for any more passengers and their lifeboat cannot make the 700 miles to the nearest port. The captain decides to shelter them in the conning tower on deck but warns them that, as unfortunate as it would be, if his submarine is attacked, he will have to submerge and the Danish survivors will be left to their fate. At one point, it looks as though this will happen, but, luckily for the Danes, the Allied warship turns away and the sub can remain on the surface. They make their way across the North Atlantic to the Azores, what the captain calls the “last hope” for the survivors who are exposed to the elements and suffer terribly from the wind and water. The other survivors below have pity on them and volunteer to take their place, rotating in turns below and on deck.

The Captain and Lt. Donald

At last, the submarine arrives at the Azores and the survivors are all put ashore, save for the Frenchman who must be taken back to base as a prisoner of war and the little dog who was given to the Italians by the Danes as a mascot. The Danish captain asks the Italian captain his name so that he can pray for him when he gets home. The Italian captain only replies, “pray for a sailor”. Donald has softened by this time and there is a short, touching moment as she leaves on the last boat to the shore while the Italian sailors stand on the deck of their submarine and wave goodbye before setting out to return to their patrol area and hunt for more Allied ships. Bring up “The End” title card and fade to black

Sailing toward neutral shores

“Submarine Attack” is a pretty humble, little movie. There is not much to it and we never get to know too much about any of the characters really. Again, it is meant to be a simple tale, well told, about humanity coming together in wartime and suggesting that if individuals can get along and remain compassionate even while their countries are at war, then, perhaps, there is hope for humanity after all. The transfer to DVD is not terribly good but it seems unlikely it will get better treatment in the future, being a mostly unknown film. It probably would not appeal to your average viewer and there are the occasional mistakes here and there, however, if one is a submarine enthusiast it is worth seeing simply for the setting. The movie was filmed on an actual Italian submarine of World War II vintage and so, seeing one in action was worth the ‘price of admission’ for me at least. There is probably not enough of a narrative and character work to interest most people, but it was worth it for me since films about the submarines of the Regia Marina are so rare and since the contribution of the Italian submarine force (which took a heavy toll on Allied shipping) is so often forgotten.

Resuming the hunt...

MM Movie Review: The Battle of El Alamein

“La battaglia di El Alamein” is a 1969 Franco-Italian movie about one of the most famous and pivotal battles of the Second World War with an emphasis on the heroic stand of the Italian Folgore airborne division. Directed by Giorgio Ferroni and written by Remigio Del Grosso and Ernesto Gastaldi it starred Frederick Stafford, George Hilton and Michael Rennie. Actually there were other actors who had larger roles but, for whatever reason, those three received top billing. The film wastes no time in getting to the action, the only background being a brief prologue text which states, “June 1942. As Gen. Erwin Rommel swept toward the Nile, the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal seemed inevitable. Italian and German advance units raced toward Alexandria. Benito Mussolini had given explicit orders: The Italians must arrive first!” With that we take up with a column of trucks carrying a troop of Bersaglieri as they race across Egypt to make a junction with the Germans. While trying to pass through a gap in a minefield the convoy is attacked by the British. Despite some daring and heroic efforts by Sergeant Major Claudio Borri (played by Enrico Maria Salerno) they are thwarted by the superior firepower of the British after taking heavy losses. This opening scene, as well as introducing us to Sgt.Maj. Borri, lets the audience know what we are in for; action, heroism and tragedy which will mark the rest of the movie.

Michael Rennie as Field Marshal Montgomery

That scene over, we jump to El Alamein where General Bernard Law Montgomery (played by Michael Rennie) arrives to take command of the British Eighth Army, full of confidence and a determination to never retreat. He emphasizes to his officers that there will be no more retreated, that all such plans are to be burned and that they will stand fast until victory. A great deal of credit has to go Michael Rennie who plays the part to perfection. It is not an extremely large part, serving mostly to give the audience an overview of the battle from the Allied perspective, but Rennie plays it well and bears an uncanny resemblance to the real Marshal Montgomery. In fact, at first glance, I thought the picture on the DVD cover was an historical photo of the actual Montgomery when, on closer inspection, it is actually a still of Michael Rennie from the movie. A little less convincing is French actor Robert Hossein as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel but only because he seems a bit too young and a bit overly-romanticized, Hossein still does a good job with the part. Rommel is complaining of his supply difficulties to Italian Marshal Bastico who, in turn, points out the Allied attacks on their convoys in spite of promised German protection. Rommel is portrayed in the best possible way but, as is usual with these types of movies, there is always one, troublesome officer who is a dedicated Nazi and here that is General Schwartz who plots to have Rommel invalided out of Egypt when he refuses to launch an attack on the British.

Marshal Bastico and Marshal Rommel confer

It is made known to the audience that the southern end of the Axis line will be a key point and it will be held (in part) by the unit we meet next, the Italian Folgore Division. Sgt. Borri shows up at the Folgore camp to meet his brother Lt. Giorgio Borri (played by Frederick Stafford) who is portrayed as being rather arrogant and who is anxious to be a war hero. However, his stubborn nature gets a man killed when he refuses to listen to his veteran brother and have his men dig in. Because of this, the men start to dislike the lieutenant, viewing him as caring more for glory and his career than their lives. Moving on, the British discover a German ruse; dummies and fake guns giving the impression of a fortified line. Despite taking brutal measures against a German party that shows up, the Axis forces learn that the British are on to their trick. So, when the British advance on the area they run right into the Folgore Division rather than a collection of dummies. The Italians decimate them and Lt. Borri captures a British general, earning an Iron Cross from the Germans but the bitterness of his men as one of their comrades was killed saving the lieutenant while he had his moment of glory.

Claudio and Giorgio Borri, two brothers at the front

Later on Sgt. Borri and a few of his Bersaglieri join the Folgore Division and the two brothers take part in a joint patrol with the Germans. One German is wounded and left by his comrades, however, the Italian brothers go back for him. Giorgio (the lieutenant) is wounded and captured making a stand so that Claudio and the injured German can escape. While in captivity he meets the humane British lieutenant Graham who impresses him, but he does finally escape and it seems the ordeal was rather good for him. He brings some captured food back to his men and from that time on becomes a much more selfless and sympathetic character. Meanwhile the British launch a suicidal attack to get a false map of the minefields into enemy hands. Lt. Graham (played by George Hilton) volunteers to lead the mission and is killed in the process which distressed Lt. Borri. The ruse, however, works. Despite the skepticism of some, General Georg Stumme (played by Giuseppe Addobbati) commanding in the absence of Rommel, orders an attack based on this false information and the tanks of the Afrika Korps roll right into a trap and are decimated by British artillery fire. While this is going on we get an odd interlude of Rommel, on sick leave, talking with the anti-Nazi head of military intelligence Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. Both agree that Hitler needs to go before Rommel learns of the disaster in Egypt and is recalled to Africa.

Folgore troopers holding off the British

British guns launch a massive barrage to weaken the Axis defenses prior to their final attack. While under heavy fire, Claudio has a bugler play a tune (mirroring a scene in the opening of the movie) and gets the men to sing to boost morale and get their minds off impending death. Meanwhile, Rommel returns to HQ and, contrary to orders from Hitler, decides to retreat, using the Ramcke battle group, along with the Italian units of the Folgore Division and the Ariete Armored Division to stand fast and cover the retreat of the rest of the army, though it is mentioned that the other Italian units have no transportation and will surely be lost in the process. Sgt. Maj. Borri is ordered to pull out with his Bersaglieri, which he does reluctantly as his brother and the rest of the Folgore troopers prepare for their last stand. This takes up the climax of the movie as the British launch their final attack, which is held off by the men of the Folgore Division with desperate courage. Italian tanks arrive to give support but are hopelessly outmatched at which point the Folgore men, having literally fought to the last bullet, attack the British tanks with Molotov cocktails.

Attacking a British tank with a land mine

Finally, after wiping out all armored opposition, a sandstorm prompts Montgomery to recall his forces. Lt. Borri and his company are still hanging on but there are practically alone. So, he gives his men the choice to stay and fight with him or to surrender. He and those with him collect land mines and some dynamite to hold out as long as possible. His brother Claudio, learns that the rest of the army has retreated or been wiped out and rushes back by motorcycle to tell his brother and presumably persuade him to leave. So, he is there when the remnants of the Folgore Division fight to the last, taking out several more British tanks with little more than their bare hands. The lieutenant will not leave of course and is killed in one of the last poignant scenes. His brother and a handful of survivors are taken prisoner by the British and each salute each other out of mutual respect for their fighting ability. The End.

Montgomery and the British top brass

That last little bit of gallantry was actually true to life. The British and other Allied witnesses noted the extreme heroism of the Italian forces in holding out against impossible odds. “The Battle of El Alamein” is a pretty simple but effective war movie, especially showcasing the courage of the Italian airborne troops. It gives a good and mostly accurate overview of the whole battle while focusing on the sector of the Folgore Division. The centrality of the two brothers helps to humanize the struggle going on and, as far as history goes, it is pretty accurate aside from some mistakes like British armored vehicles that are clearly not of World War II vintage and some uniforms that are not precisely correct but nothing major. Although it had a limited budget, probably thanks to help from the Italian army, the movie still has an epic feel to it with major, large-scale battle scenes featuring many infantrymen and lots of tanks. The actors all do a pretty good job, some even giving excellent performances. The only complaint I have is that a better transfer is not available for this classic. The DVD I have is really ‘bare bones’ with no extras, no scene selection and looks to be just a transfer from VHS. The one I have is dubbed in English and there is no option for subtitles but that was not an issue for me. This movie should have a better DVD release with the picture quality cleaned up and refined with modern methods. Still, it is not the worst transfer I have ever seen and for anyone interested in the Italian army or World War II in North Africa it is definitely worth a look.

Two enemies salute

MM Movie Review: Gladiator

The 2000 Ridley Scott film “Gladiator” was a box office success that is widely credited with reviving the “sword and sandal” historical epics (though given some that came later one might be tempted to use the word “blame” rather than “credit” sometimes). What is the story? Well, as with so many movies these days “Gladiator” is a little light on story. It pretty much boils down to a quest for revenge though they try to spice it up with some other plot points but they really make no sense. Russell Crowe stars as General Maximus Decimus Meridius who we meet in the opening scenes leading his armies to victory over some German barbarians. I don’t know how accurate the battle sequence is, but it is certainly impressive. In almost any Roman-era movie the “barbarians”, be they Germans, Celts or anyone else are all portrayed the same way: very hairy, very primitive and wearing lots of animal skins. The battle is won by Maximus under the watchful eyes of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (played by veteran actor Richard Harris). His son and daughter arrive just as the fighting is over and we move on to my first really (*really*) big problem with this movie.

The great Emperor Marcus Aurelius, an old man about to die, says that he’s really not a fan of the whole “empire” thing and wants Rome to go back to being the ideal, virtuous republic that it once was. Yes, this tired line again. You know, that glorious Roman Republic ruled by a handful of feuding elite politicians which spent its last hundred years killing its own people in civil wars driven by men with more ego than brains and more vanity than patriotism…yes, that one. Of course that was so much better than the peace, prosperity and cultural revival that came with the establishment of the monarchy by Emperor Augustus. Now, considering the fact that Marcus Aurelius is a very old man by this time, one is tempted to ask why, if he so detested the empire, did he not immediately abdicate all his powers to the Senate long ago? Why wait till now when you know you are about to die and must know that this is going to cause sufficient upheaval that you want your best general to step in as military dictator to oversee the transition? Such questions are never answered. Roman film fans will remember that this was the set-up for the epic movie, “The Fall of the Roman Empire” which was also based around Marcus Aurelius wanting to deny the throne to his son in favor of handing power over to a trusted general. Were the makers of “Gladiator” really at such a loss for ideas that they had to rip off the falsities of past films?

So, Emperor Marcus Aurelius wants to be the last Roman Emperor and he wants Maximus to take charge in Rome during the transition back to being a republic. He says that his own son, Commodus, is pretty much an evil jerk and cannot be allowed to assume power. Maximus, humble and un-ambitious of course as all heroes are expected to be, does not want to take power but the Emperor tells him that is precisely why he is the only man for the job. Forgive me, but this really takes dramatic license way, way too far. Contrary to what they say, Rome was not “founded as a republic”. It had originally been a monarchy. That monarchy was overthrown and Rome became a republic. I am a fan of Roman civilization in general and I don’t like to bash the Roman Republic but I really get tired of the constant over-romanticism of the republic at the expense of the empire. The Roman Republic fell because it failed, it could no longer function and the Romans, who were a very practical people, by and large understood that when one thing doesn’t work you try something else. They also, even after the elevation of Augustus, considered themselves a republic -just a republic with an Emperor who held final authority. Moreover, we know that Marcus Aurelius was not the last Roman Emperor and that the Empire went on for a very long time after him so, who are they trying to fool? Additionally, not only did Marcus Aurelius not want to exclude his son from power he actually made Commodus a sort of partner alongside him some time before he died. The real Marcus Aurelius actually went above and beyond to make it known that his son would succeed him and that the succession would be peaceful.

Well, not in this movie, which in this early scene immediately takes on a decidedly anti-monarchist tone (which is a shame because it is such a well made, entertaining film for the most part). Marcus Aurelius is the “good Emperor” only because he doesn’t want to be Emperor at all (yet he kept the job all these years) and the goal is to see the monarchy abolished and senatorial rule restored. However, when he announces to his son Commodus (played with villainous excellence by Joaquin Phoenix) that he will not be emperor but instead his general will take charge and turn power over to the Senate, believe it or not, Commodus is rather unhappy with the news. In a fit of rage he kills his father and assumes power. Which, we know of course, is pure myth as in actual history Marcus Aurelius died of sickness. In any event, it is done here and other commanders are loyal to Commodus and Maximus is arrested and soldiers are sent to kill his wife and children. The general escapes but is captured by slave traders bound for Africa.

Maximus is bought by Proximo (played by the late great Oliver Reed) who makes him a gladiator, eventually instilling in him a will to live and to use his status as a gladiator to rise to fame, earn his way to fight in Rome and get close to the Emperor. In the meantime, Commodus returns triumphantly to Rome and promptly angers the Senate. He would like to do away with them entirely but his sister, Princess Lucilla (played marvelously by Danish actress Connie Nielsen) dissuades him on the grounds that the people need their traditions. Just to reiterate what a bad guy Commodus is we are quickly shown that he’d like nothing better than to crush his sister’s smokes (yep, a time-honored insult for Roman emperors if ever there was one -incest is best, everything’s relative! Oh boy…) and she also fears angering her brother for the sake of her son Lucius. Commodus decides to overcome the opposition of the Senate by winning over the public which he does with a campaign of generosity and 150 days of gladiatorial games in the Coliseum. I will add here that the soundtrack on the movie is pretty spectacular but my favorite musical note was the fanfare when the Emperor arrives in the ‘royal box’. And, although I couldn’t swear as to the accuracy, the costumes all look magnificent to me. I thought Rome itself was done well though I know some have complained about the CGI. All I can say to that is, if you think the CGI in this movie is terrible -I can only envy you as I have seen much, much, much worse.

Maximus (known as “the Spaniard” in gladiatorial circles) finally arrives in Rome but, being the proper, virtuous republican that he is, cannot resist denouncing the spectacle of blood sports. He says that Marcus Aurelius had a vision of Rome and that the blood sport of the coliseum was “not it”. Well, sorry to burst your bubble there general but gladiatorial combat had been going on in Rome for a very, very long time before Marcus Aurelius was ever a twinkle in his father’s eye. Just as with his condemnation of the empire and glorification of the idyllic republic that never existed, I say again, if the Emperor had a problem with gladiators fighting to the death he could have just stopped it. He was the Emperor. He would have been seen as a wussy, puritanical kill-joy by the Roman people but he could have done it. There are few things that turn me off more than people, real or fictitious, who gripe and moan about things that they have every power to change but for some reason never do so. For a real life example witness Thomas Jefferson and his numerous and vociferous condemnations of slavery and keep in mind that this man owned hundreds of slaves and never gave any of them their freedom. Sorry to digress, but that sort of thing just really annoys me.

Maximus triumphs in the arena against all odds and finally comes face to face with the Emperor. Commodus is shocked and horrified to find him alive but Maximus had won the crowd over and so the Emperor cannot kill him without angering the mob. Maximus, meanwhile, enters into a conspiracy with Lucilla and some senators to have the Emperor assassinated after which time Maximus will be able to carry out his last order and have his revenge against Commodus all at the same time. A great plan right? Well, it would have been except that for some reason some idiot seems to have let the little boy Lucius in on their plan to have Maximus “save” Rome and overthrow his uncle who just happens to be the most powerful man on earth and holds all of their lives in the palm of his hand. Again, Emperor Commodus is rather upset by this and in a very chilling scene lets his sister know that he is on to them and that if she does anything to displease him her son will be the first to die. Well done to whoever told the kid, brilliant move there.

The only other problem I have with this is that we are just supposed to take for granted that Emperor Commodus is an unpopular and terrible tyrant. Yet, we never actually see him do anything to the people to warrant that judgment. We see him be perfectly evil of course but only to his own family and to Maximus who was standing in the way of his inheritance and knew the truth about the fictional last wishes of his father. We never see him tyrannizing the people, being cruel to them or advancing himself in any undue way. The real Commodus was considered more odd than anything else, more of a nut job than anything else, naming months after himself and walking around wearing a lion skin and carrying a club -totally unlike the Commodus in this movie. On the contrary, as far as the Roman people are concerned all we ever see is the Emperor being good to them, feeding them, entertaining them and worrying over how well the people love him. From what we see on screen, so long as you did not cross him or were not related to him you would probably think he was a pretty great monarch. But that doesn’t seem to matter. He is the bad guy, Maximus is the good guy and Commodus has to find some way of getting rid of him without just executing him which would upset the public.

Finally, Emperor Commodus decides that the only way to deal with Maximus is to kill him himself in the arena in gladiatorial combat (after stabbing him in the side of course to ensure his victory). A wounded, bleeding to death Maximus against the wicked Emperor Commodus, yes, we all know how that is going to end. That’s right, they both die. Maximus kills the Emperor, has his revenge and then promptly drops dead. The Praetorian Guard does nothing, the crowd does not react -nothing. One would think this sort of thing happened every day. Someone just killed the Emperor of Rome in front of thousands of witnesses and absolutely no action is taken. Maximus is given all the honors of death while the Emperor is just left to lay there in the dirt. Did I miss something? Seriously, THAT was the end? That is what we have been building toward all this time; they both die, end of story, roll credits? Huh?!?

At the end of the day I could not figure out just exactly what the point of “Gladiator” was supposed to be. The hero does not really ‘win’ other than accomplishing the fact of killing the ‘bad guy’. However, as we have already seen, we never see the ‘bad guy’ do anything that bad in the grand scheme of things beyond how he ruined the lives of a few individuals. I know we are led to believe that the farcical last wish of Marcus Aurelius was fulfilled and the Roman Republic was restored -but we all know that did not happen. The Roman Empire marched on for a long, long time to come after the actual death of the real Emperor Commodus. So, again, I wonder what really was the point of it all? What is this movie supposed to be telling us? The only moral I could find was that if someone does you wrong, don’t give up, just be patient and wait until the time is right to take your revenge and even if it kills you it will still be worth it if your enemy dies with you. Not exactly uplifting I suppose. However, I will say again though that the movie is very entertaining, the fight scenes are realistic and exciting, I thought it looked spectacular, the actors all gave first rate performances (I loved the announcer by the way), the sound was good and it was pretty well paced. It was, on the other hand, very inaccurate, rather absurd at times regarding the story and did not really have any depth to it. That and it was very anti-monarchist from where I was sitting.

MM Movie Review: Captain Corelli's Mandolin

“Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” is a 2001 film (the last in our look at Italian war films starring Nicholas Cage) directed by John Madden and starring Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz. The movie has been much-derided, both when it came out and since, for playing up national stereotypes, it was not well received by critics and disappointed some fans of the book upon which it was based. The accusation that it makes virtually every character into a stereotype is, frankly, legitimate. For much of the time, actually most of the time, the film is running, it is one long stereotypical characterization of the Italians, Greeks and Germans. However, it did manage to draw attention to one of the previously most overlooked or forgotten but proud and heroic pages in the history of the Royal Italian Army; the defense of the island of Cefalonia from the Germans. I tend to give the film a great deal of credit simply for accomplishing that. The book did this as well but, as always, more people will watch a movie than read a book. Since the production more people have become aware of Italian heroism on Cefalonia and the Greek and Italian governments have recognized their sacrifice during the chaos of World War II.

The film opens with an introduction to the happy, simply Greeks of the island of Cefalonia, particularly the lovely Pelagia (Penelope Cruz), her father the town doctor (played by John Hurt as a gruff but good man -I know, John Hurt as a good guy, it’s weird) and Mandras, Pelagia’s love interest who is played by a barely recognizable Christian Bale. Pelagia and Mandras are expected to be married even though he is an uncouth, uneducated fisherman and she is a super-intelligent daughter of a doctor. However, when the war arrives in Greece, Mandras immediately departs to go fight the Italians along the Albanian border. Pelagia writes to him religiously but hears nothing back and eventually gives up on him as being either dead or simply beyond her. Of course, the film plays up the idea that the Greeks were winning the war against Italy before the Germans came in (which is not exactly true, things were more or less stalemated) and one would get the impression that the Italians never won even a single battle against the Greeks, which is not true. In any event, Greece is conquered and the island of Cefalonia is occupied by Italian forces of the Acqui division, including the captain of artillery Antonio Corelli (Nicholas Cage).

Captain Corelli speaks Greek, takes an immediate liking to Pelagia and stays at their house in exchange for providing the doctor with medical supplies. Captain Corelli and his men are pretty much walking stereotypes. The are lustful, wine loving, opera singing artillerymen who have never fired a shot in anger and who would rather have a good time than fight or observe military discipline. They are the relaxed, fun-loving guys and the Germans (the few we see) are all rigid, militaristic jerks. The actors are all good but they have not been used to best advantage. A good example being Cage’s ridiculous attempt at an Italian accent. Personally, I think it is often better to just speak your own language without attempting an accent if you cannot master it properly. Mandras returns from the front and is nursed back to health by Pelagia and his mother (played by Irene Pappas who was also in the previously reviewed “Lion of the Desert”). He never wrote back because he is illiterate, which Pelagia did not know (and evidently he could not ask a friend to write for him after they read him the letters where she is clearly becoming forlorn and distraught at his silence but … oh well). Especially when compared with the novel, the characters in the film come off as extremely simplistic to the point of being rather flat.

The Italians eventually come to be more and more accepted by the Greek locals. This infuriates Mandras who goes to join the guerillas and, of course, a romance slowly builds between Pelagia and Captain Corelli. However, conditions become more difficult as the war goes on and it becomes clear that the Germans and Italians are nearing a split, especially after the fall of Rome to Allied forces. To their great delight Captain Corelli and his men learn that Mussolini was removed from power and they think that the war is over for Italy. The Greeks begin celebrating as well, pulling down Italian flags and replacing them with the Greek colors as the Germans retreat. The Italian forces are told that they will surrender to the Germans, hand over their weapons and be transported back to Italy. However, despite the woman between them, Mandras tries to persuade Captain Corelli to hand over the Italian weapons to the guerillas. The Greeks tell Corelli that the Germans are preparing to occupy the island and that Italian forces who surrendered were either killed or sent to concentration camps in Germany. Obviously, this makes the Italians less than happy to cooperate when the Nazis arrive to disarm them. Tensions are raised and the Germans machine gun several of the Italian troops.

The Nazi forces still promise to send all Italians safely home but Captain Corelli no longer believes them and so the Italian forces decided to resist and defend the Greeks and their island from the Germans. Working with the partisans, they distribute what weapons they have and deploy their forces to fight the German invasion. There is a short, fierce battle in which the Italians offer determined resistance but they have nothing to counter the German air attacks and are eventually vanquished. The Germans then gather together all the Italian prisoners and begin massacring them. Captain Corelli would have been killed but, keeping a promise to watch over him to Pelagia, one of his men shields him with his body and saves his life. Mandras finds him and brings him to the doctor and Pelagia and the doctor manages to save him even though he was very badly wounded. He stays hidden with Pelagia as the Germans kill any Italians and anyone found harboring Italians in a wave of brutality. Captain Corelli is finally smuggled off the island by Greek partisans and returns to Italy.

Mandras says he saved the Captain so that Pelagia might love him again and he tells her how he had every one of her letter read to him until he memorized them until the final one in which Pelagia broke it off. Of course, he never explains why he had no one to answer for him when the letters kept getting more and more sad and urgent with each one but … oh well. After the war ends Pelagia, who is studying to be a doctor, receives a package from Italy containing a record of the mandolin song Captain Corelli wrote for her. She doesn’t even listen to all of it but her father writes to him and more or less asks him to come back because Pelagia is still longing for him. Immediately afterward there is a huge earthquake and Pelagia thinks her father is killed, but he’s not and this shakes her emotions loose, she has a good cry and things go back to normal. And then, of course, Captain Corelli (now a civilian) returns, reunited with Pelagia and everyone can live happily ever after.

The movie is not as bad as the reputation it has gained as one of Cage’s more infamous stinkers. It’s just not very good either. It is heavy on stereotypes, everything is pretty predictable and it tells the sort of story most moviegoers have seen a hundred times. However, it can be moving at times, the characters are generally sympathetic and so on. The only ones I had a real problem with were Mandras and the German. Mandras because he simply comes across as being, well, not a terribly nice guy. If he loved Pelagia as much as he claimed he should have answered her damn letters, he admits he only saved Corelli for selfish reasons and he allowed a lifelong friend to be murdered just because she danced with a German (and I’m not going to say there was more to it because the movie didn’t show us any more). The German comes across as sort of an innocent guy who has been brainwashed but in the end he is just as brutal as the rest (though he does spare Corelli’s life) and we see no reason for this, no change in him or anything of the kind. However, as I said before, I will give this movie credit for at least getting more people to read about the real story of Italian heroism on the island of Cefalonia during World War II, something which received very little attention before the book and movie came out.

MM Movie Review: Tempo di uccidere

“Time to Kill” or “Tempo di uccidere” is a 1989 film starring Nicholas Cage about the troubles of an Italian soldier during the war in Abyssinia. The director was Giuliano Montaldo and it was an English-language production. The film begins near the end of the war in Abyssinia. First Lieutenant Enrico Silvestri (Nicholas Cage) has a toothache and leaves his camp early to go to the dentist. Unfortunately, his truck breaks down on the way and so he sets out on foot. When the rest of the convoy arrives he is nowhere to be found. Finally he arrives after being picked up by another truck, putting to rest the fears that he had been killed by rebels. His hand is hurt and he still has the toothache and goes to the dentist (the dentist appears to be played by the same actor who played Oliver Reed’s aide in “Lion of the Desert”). He starts asking about how long a person could live with a bullet in their guts. All very mysterious … and then we cut to a flashback. After the accident that caused the breakdown Lt. Silvestri sets out on foot for the construction site where the Italian military engineers are building a huge bridge. He arrives but finds no dentist, gets some painkillers and starts walking back to the highway. But, a “helpful” soldier offers him a shortcut through the wilderness and gives him some (rather vague) directions about a stream and a lake and a road to division HQ. The soldier cryptically wishes him “good luck” and smiles as he leaves.

While walking through the wilderness, he gives a cigarette to a lizard in what has to be the most bizarre and pointless scene of this bizarre and pointless movie. He stumbles later and appears to hurt his hand, then finds a waterfall where he also finds a nubile young Abyssinian girl wearing a white turban (and nothing else) taking a bath. He asks her for directions, starts to wash himself a bit, gives her some soap and keeps asking for directions to the lake. She doesn’t speak his language and so that goes nowhere and (there’s no polite way to put this) his lust overcomes him and he rapes the girl. Trying to make himself feel better afterwards, I suppose, he offers her some money (she refuses), some canned food (she refuses), a Bible (she accepts that), some breeches (she accepts) and she seemed very interested in his broken watch. He finds out her name is Marian but, we’re told, all the girls are named Marian in Ethiopia. When he starts to leave she runs after him and, well, invites him to have another roll in the grass (I guess the first time ended up impressing her). On the bright side, it got rid of his toothache, though he is a little worried that the girl might be thinking of herself as his wife and, oh yeah, he’s already married and has a wife back in Italy.

The girl then brings him some food but he seems to scare her by drawing a picture of a crocodile. She shows him where the lake is but it’s too late for him to move on and so the two love birds settle into a cave for the night. She bandages his hand and then, yep, they do it again and fall asleep. Silvestri wakes up, his toothache back, and takes another pain pill when he hears an animal outside. It’s a hyena, which he shoots but one of the bullets ricochets and hits his little Abyssinian sweetie pie in the stomach. She dies and he wraps her up, lays her in a crevice and covers it with rocks, removing all trace of their presence at the ‘scene of the crime’. He finds his way to the road and gets a ride to camp as he planned. The flashback finished for the moment, we go back to the camp where we are told that rebels overran the construction site of the bridge and they have to move out and start combing the area for them. Back at the bridge, Silvestri finds the soldier dead who gave him the shortcut directions. As they move through the area they cover the same ground Silvestri covered, finding dead Abyssinians along the way. They reach what he assumes is Marian’s village where the people are burying more dead.

Silvestri goes back to the cave where he and Marian spent their night together and he finds one shell casing he must have overlooked in his cleanup. They also find a young boy wearing a pair of Italian army breeches who gives Silvestri an odd look. Once back at camp, Silvestre is informed that he’s been granted leave and he’s so happy to be going back to see his wife because, as he exclaims, “Yes, I’m in love with my wife!” But then a second later he’s drunk and moping over how pretty Marian was. That doesn’t last long though and Silvestri and his friend Mario fall in with an eccentric, crooked, over-the-top major played by the incomparable Giancarlo Giannini. He takes them out carousing and they see some girls with leprosy. The major informs them that girls who wear white turbans have leprosy. This puts the thought in Silvestri’s head that he might have picked up leprosy from Marian. He starts to obsess over his wounded hand (which I swear he got before he even met Marian but the film is purposely vague on that point). He sees a doctor who tells him it takes years for leprosy to show itself but that there are cases in which it manifests in a few days. He tells the doctor he is doing research for a novel (he doesn’t want anyone to know he might have the disease).

The doctor acts as though he knows Silvestri is really talking about himself, telling him that the authorities must report all cases of leprosy and that the victims will spend the rest of their lives in a leper colony. He shoots at the doctor and runs off. He tries to get himself on a ship for home without going through the proper procedures but has no luck. He runs away again, sees a man (an Italian) being executed, he then tries to buy his way onto another ship as a stowaway but doesn’t have 30,000 lire to cover it. While moping around, becoming more and more parnoid and convinced he has leprosy, he runs into the eccentric major again who takes him to a brothel and then, on their way back to the major’s camp, they spot an army of rebels coming down from the mountains and stop to let them pass. He robs the major to get the money to buy himself on to the ship, having taken the bullets out of the major’s gun so he can’t stop him as he starts walking back to town. He doesn’t get back to town but wanders back to the same native village he thinks Marian was from. He makes nice with the locals, gives up on the ship home and decides he wants to stay with the natives because he’s ‘sick in his soul’.

The old man tells him that Marian was not sick and he tells the old man what happened to Marian. This time, he tells the whole story though. Marian didn’t just die of her wound. Knowing stomach wounds are the most slow and painful of all, he shot her himself to put her out of her misery. Silvestri then leads the old man to where he buried Marian. The old man wants to kill him, but doesn’t and the two make a little shrine for Marian (the old man’s daughter we are led to believe). He puts some native paste on Silvestri’s wound. He returns to the port as news arrives that Abyssinia is conquered and the war is over. He joins his friend Mario on the ship home, all smiles, telling him about what happened. Turns out, no one was even looking for him, he was in no trouble with the authorities and he never had leprosy. Mario took over the narrative and says that the major was killed by the rebels thanks to Silvestri taking his bullets but Mario never told anyone, including Silvestri, about it. He felt somewhat responsible for the whole thing since he had been unable to convince Silvestri to wait and tolerate his toothache a while until they could leave together in the convoy. The end.

This is not a well known movie and not a well reviewed one in the vast majority of cases. I just found it, again, bizarre and pointless. Some have argued that there is a deeper meaning and that it’s really some profound work but, seriously, you have to stretch things pretty far for that. Any deeper meaning you get out of this is one YOU came up with, not the filmmakers. I don’t think it’s terrible. There was some good acting on display and you do get the message that this is about a man wrestling with his conscience but it is a message hammered into you relentlessly. I did not find it deep or meaningful, just odd, disjointed and, by the end, I just see no real reason for it. This is not an easy movie to find if you want a copy but it’s sufficiently poorly rated to be featured on Hulu so those interested can watch it free on-line. I would not encourage anyone to but, if you have ‘time to kill’ I would not discourage anyone from watching it either.

MM Movie Review: El Alamein - La linea del fuoco

“El Alamein - La Linea del Fuoco” (‘the line of fire’) is a very well done and moving film that is often mislabeled. In fact, even the title is a bit misleading. It is not about the famous World War II battle of El Alamein at all, in fact it has very little to do with the actual battle. It is, in the strictest sense, a “war movie” but if you are looking for lots of action, close combat battle scenes and heavy gunfire you will be sorely disappointed. I would be surprised if there was even five minutes of actual fighting on screen in the entire movie. However, with all due apologies to the action junkies, that should not discourage you from seeing this movie. If it has anything to do with the battle of El Alamein it is mostly in the aftermath of the battle, which was a British victory and a disaster for the Axis forces and the Italian army in particular. What is truly great about this movie is that it tells a story few know anything about, it shows the real life of an Italian army unit in North Africa which was far from glamorous or exciting and it shows the stoic courage of Italian soldiers put in an impossible position through no fault of their own. It is a moving and realistic look at an aspect of World War II few think about.

The central character is Private Serra, a fresh-faced university volunteer from Sicily who arrives in Egypt pumped full of promises from Mussolini that soon Italian troops will be marching into Alexandria and break the back of the British Empire. He is assigned to the Pavia Division at the extreme southern end of the front. His unit is literally the last in line with nothing below them but the impassable Qattara Depression. As soon as he arrives he sees first-hand the dangers of his new environment as the corporal guiding him to his squad is blasted to nothing by an incoming British artillery shell (a severed ear being all that remains of the man). He is taken in and shown the ropes by his sergeant, Rizzo, (an excellent performance by Pierfrancesco Favino) a veteran soldier from a peasant background with little education but a great deal of real-life experience at war. He had once been a POW of the British and that experience made him determined never to be taken alive again. Serra meets and quickly befriends the other men of his squad, the closest being Private Spagna, Corporal De Vita who, along with Serra and Sergeant Rizzo, form a close circle of friends. Lt. Fiore is their officer, a good man but an exhausted one who is a father-figure in the best sense to his soldiers.

I have noticed that in similar American war movies there are always fights inside every unit, the bullies and the bullied and it was nice to see one where this never really happened (though Serra is warned at the outset to remove his “University Volunteer” patch for fear this will upset his comrades). All share the same dangers and privations and they all pretty much stick together and look out for one another, which was a refreshing change. The first part of the movie shows Serra getting used to life at the front, learning about the dangers of enemy shelling, the environment, mines and dysentery. As he relates in letters home, it is not what he expected with long stretches of inactive boredom punctuated by occasional shelling by an enemy none can see. When the unit comes under attack by a British sniper, shooting medics as well as infantry, enraging the Italians, they call for their expert mortar operator to take out the sniper. This stood out to me as being a good and historically accurate scene. Because the Italian army was often lacking in proper weapons and equipment their mortar teams became renowned for their expertise, an expertise born out of necessity as they often had to do the job better suited to weapons the Italian forces lacked.

Serra is also told about the “three miracles” every soldier gets only to learn that he already used up two within days of his arrival. The first was when the corporal guiding him was “turned to sand” yet Serra wasn’t touched. The second was when he stepped on a mine only to discover it was an anti-tank mine and he wasn’t heavy enough to set it off. So he had only one miracle left, yet, after questioning his comrades, he learned that they all used up all three of their miracles months, if not years, before. However, their biggest problem is a lack of almost everything; food, water, ammunition, new uniforms and replacements for their losses. When a supply convoy is lost they almost eat Mussolini’s horse but the lieutenant cannot bring himself to kill the animal. Again, the scene is illustrative of the wider war. The trucks were carrying shoe polish and the horse Mussolini would ride triumphantly into Alexandria. While the soldiers at the front had next to nothing and felt forgotten, their dictator was using up supply trucks and fuel to prepare for a victory parade that would never happen. Overcome by privation, Sergeant Rizzo and his squad break orders while on a mission to pick up supplies and drive to the coast for a few forbidden minutes of swimming and pretending there is no war.

Not long after returning, Serra discovers a camel which he shoots for his comrades to feast on. This leads to the discovery that certain areas have been de-mined which makes the men think the British are planning an attack. Later, Lt. Fiore informs Sergeant Rizzo that a scouting party of bersaglieri had gone missing in the Qattara Depression and that he has to take a man to go look for them and see if the British might be trying to pass through the impassable sea of sand. Rizzo chooses Serra to go with him since he is new and he doesn’t want to risk the lives of other men who have served so much longer on what could be a dangerous assignment. After an epic trek through the barren wasteland they find the bersaglieri all dead and bury them and hurry back to camp as they hear artillery fire in the distance. Little did they know, they might have saved their lives by being away as the missed the main British attack of the second battle of El Alamein. They return to their pit to find everything in shambles, Corporal De Vita suffering from shell shock and Spagna shaken but unhurt.

The group then learns that they are pulling back to another defensive line where they deal with another British attack and then are told the army is retreating again. This begins the primary “story” to this movie which is the real-life experience of the Italian X Army Corps which was abandoned during the Axis retreat after the battle of El Alamein. They have no transportation, no relief for their wounded men and as they trudge through the desert soon have nothing at all. Attrition wears them down and their numbers dwindle as they cross a seemingly infinite expanse of desert. This is historically accurate as the X Corp, including the Pavia Division, was abandoned during the retreat, most being captured by the British or dropping dead of their wounds or exhaustion. It is one of the most terrible but often overlooked disasters of World War II.

The famous German Field Marshal Rommel had been absent during the British attack at El Alamein and when he returned and found things in a mess he ordered an immediate retreat, not just out of Egypt, but ultimately all the way back to Tunisia. This greatly upset the Italians (many of whom had disapproved of the offensive in the first place as being too reckless and foolhardy) for a number of reasons. Among these was the fact that, whereas the German Africa Corps was highly motorized, the Italian army was severely lacking in transportation and, as was the case with the X Corps, many men would have to be left behind. Also, the Italians wished to at least attempt to defend Libya, which was their land, but which the Germans had no interest in. These brutal historical facts are illustrated in the film in a couple of scenes; one in which a column of haughty Germans speed past the Italians in trucks, cars and half-tracks, refusing to help and shouting insults at them. Later an Italian truck comes by but, while somewhat more sympathetic, is already overloaded with men and has no room for any others.

So, the remnants of the X Corps struggle on. Lt. Fiore leads the way, soon he, Sgt. Rizzo and Pvt. Serra are all that remains of his command. Each time they reach what would have been their destination they find out that the army had already retreated to another point hundreds of kilometers away. Passing vehicles promise to send a truck back for them but none ever arrive. Although our focus is on this little band, it is made clear that there are many more just like them, thousands of men who have been left to their fate, left to the mercy of the desert of their British enemies. It was a shameful page in the history of the German Africa Corps which stands out all the more because, unlike other fronts in the war, the German army in Africa was usually noted for behaving in a humane and professional manner. In the film, almost by chance, Fiore, Rizzo and Serra avoid being captured with the rest of the Italian forces they were traveling with while camping for the night at a small Muslim shrine. Lt. Fiore, badly wounded, becomes weaker and closer to death when they finally discover an abandoned motorcycle and get it working.

At the very beginning of the film, Serra was taken to the front by a Bersaglieri soldier on a motorcycle. It is when he first sees North Africa, and finds it beautiful. In a scene meant to mirror the opening, Fiore says he cannot make it and the loyal Sergeant Rizzo will not leave him behind. So, Serra is sent alone to take the motorcycle in the hope that he can escape to safety and perhaps send back a rescue for the two others. From what we have seen so far though, it does not look like Lt. Fiore will live very long. Serra seems to sense this as well as tears stream down his face as he races away on the precious motorcycle, leaving as he came, but full of sorrow where he had arrived with so much optimism. With no more resolution than that we fade to black as text appears on the screen relating the historical facts and the stunning statistics of the Pavia Division and the X Italian Army Corps which was abandoned and totally lost in the aftermath of El Alamein.

The ending some may have a problem with. Nothing is really resolved, we don’t know for sure what happens. Do Fiore and Rizzo survive? Are they rescued? Does Serra even manage to get to the Italo-German lines? We don’t know and, as the closing shots show the marble blocks for the remains of all those marked “unknown” perhaps this was to make an intentional point. It does drive home the realism of the whole piece, which is a tragedy, that in real life, you don’t always get the happy ending, sometimes you don’t get an ending at all. In that sense, it is a fitting way to end the film but it certainly is not satisfying in the typical way most are used to. The acting in the movie is top-notch all around. Pierfrancesco Favino as Sgt. Rizzo particularly stood out, which is not surprising given his record as an award-winning actor.

This movie won three Italian Academy Awards and all due credit should go to Enzo Monteleone for making a movie that feels like an epic on a very restricted budget. Using night battles, swirling sand and strategic placement of extras, he is able to convey the feeling that a much larger war is raging all the time in the background even without an army of extras. Paolo Briguglia, who played Pvt. Serra, won a Golden Globe for best actor debut with this movie and I have to give credit to someone new to me, Emilio Solfrizzi who played Lt. Fiori. He gave a very powerful dramatic performance which impressed me all the more when I found out afterward that the man is a comedian. All I can say is that he definitely has what they call in the acting world “range” and that is impressive. The attention to detail throughout the film seemed pretty good to me. I’m no expert to quibble on such things but I did notice they were wearing the correct collar patches for soldiers of the Pavia Division.

This movie will not be to everyone’s taste. However, it is very well done and tells an important story that few have ever heard. That is probably what I liked best about it was simply the subject matter. I like that this story was told and told so well. In truth, the Italian commander in North Africa, Marshal of Italy Bastico, was against the invasion of Egypt, even German Air Marshal Kesselring was against it but Rommel, perhaps over-confident from his string of victories, pushed ahead. Marshal Bastico predicted that they would stretch their supply lines to the breaking point and these would already be over-stressed since the conquest of Malta was postponed in favor of the Egyptian campaign. Everything came out as he predicted. The British were victorious and the Italians were left high and dry, even after putting up truly heroic resistance. The Folgore Division was particularly cited (and this was mentioned in the film) for stopping a major British attack with little more than their bare hands. This movie tells an important story, a story of brave Italian soldiers who did all that could be expected, who were brave, determined and hard fighters but who were sadly abandoned. Their courage and sacrifice deserves to be remembered.