646f9e108c World war two drama about the 1942 North Africa battle at El Alamein between the Allies and the Axis forces. June 1942 El Alamein: Rommel swept towards the River Nile. The fall Egypt and the all important Suez Canal seems inevitable. Italian and German scouts race towards Alexandria. Mussolini has given explicit orders that Italy&#39;s forces were to reach the city first. I purchased thispart of a package deal - you know the type, 4 WW 2 films in one box for under $15. Half of the films in this set were good and this is the best of the lot. It&#39;s the story of the British victory at El Alameintold mainly from the Italian perspective. The acting isn&#39;t the film&#39;s strong suit, but it&#39;s adequate. The story is excellent and the execution of the screenplay is superlative. There are some really good battle sequenceswell. Look for a decent performance from Michael Renniethe British General Bernard Law Montgomery. He isn&#39;t a Field Marshal yet. In fact, it was this victory that earned him his Baton. Overall, a fine flick. His is the best acting job of the lot, acting NOT being the strong point of the film. I don&#39;t know how factual it is, although the overall story seems accurate enough. Lt. Borri (Frederick Stafford) is not so much a martinethe is a relatively brave man who is ashamed of the Italian Army&#39;s accurate reputation for cowardice. Throughout the film, the Italians are excused for their cowardice by showing themdisillusioned and betrayed by their allies, the Germans. Rommel may be anti-Nazi, but he willingly sacrifices Italian troops to protect his own, which he really did. Borri tries to prove to his British foes and to himself that not all Italians are cowards, and winds up mistaking foolhardiness for courage.<br/><br/>The Italians are shownthe only soldiers thinking about their families back home, like Borri&#39;s brother. This another attempt to show that they are not cowards, just peaceful, ordinary men -if most Britons and Germans weren&#39;t. When Lt. Borri is captured by the British, no other Italian POWs will join him in his escape. They are all glad to be out of the war.<br/><br/>In the end, Lt. Borri sacrifices his life in a heroic gesture history shows was ultimately futile. His brother and the others are taken prisoner, proud but no doubt also glad to be out of the war. Borri&#39;s brother will live to see his wife and child - if they aren&#39;t killed when the Allies invade Italy in 1943. They will spend the next 2 years slowly fighting their way against the Germans to the Alps. Italy will be ravaged in the process. That was the ultimate price Italian families paid for the cowardice of their soldiers, who mostly never expressed any regret.<br/><br/>A well-acted, moving, if cheaply made film. However, like &quot;Brave Gente&quot;, it is another apologia for the pathetic performance of the Italian Army. This &quot;army&quot; had to use poison gas to beat the Ethiopians.
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371 weeks ago