It's a solid war movie about a battle in a forgotten conflict. Even better: it's not simple pro US / anti communist propaganda. That's rare and refreshing. It's exciting to watch and tells an important story that had been covered up for long. Go watch it. But...
My issue is that the film doesn't respect the historical reality. Plenty of stories are untold about Charles de Gaulle, a man who came to power because of a military coup which marked the end of the fourth republic and later repaid the favour by pardoning right wing ex militaries who had gone rogue and engaged in terrorism. But he did not send the legionnaires to the Kongo. They actually turned into mercenaries after trying to coup against de Gaulle (yes history is wild) and having to withdraw from Algeria. If you need to include backup from a former colonial power, maybe look at Belgium instead, that would make more sense.
I understand that movie wants to give a quick overview on the context before throwing the audience into battle. The phone call at the beginning is a cheap and quick way to do so. But here's a better idea: drop the wife at home. This would free up the 5 minutes needed to tell the real story of the legionnaires and why they were there. We don't need to know that the main guy has a wife at home (all humans have families), especially when she serves no function except saying goodbye and hello.
Hell this might even give us time to tell the audience that the cover up led to suicide for some of the soldiers because of the shame that was cast onto them. Clearly the intention of this movie is to do justice by this military unit, and that's certainly a part of it, even though it might hurt some patriotic feelings in Ireland.
I'm not french, but my grandfather served in the legion. His stories about the wars were honest and included the war crimes which they committed. No hurt feelings here except I'm a nerd for history and this movie has missed some great chances for accurate education. The good news is that it could be fixed with very little editing.
My issue is that the film doesn't respect the historical reality. Plenty of stories are untold about Charles de Gaulle, a man who came to power because of a military coup which marked the end of the fourth republic and later repaid the favour by pardoning right wing ex militaries who had gone rogue and engaged in terrorism. But he did not send the legionnaires to the Kongo. They actually turned into mercenaries after trying to coup against de Gaulle (yes history is wild) and having to withdraw from Algeria. If you need to include backup from a former colonial power, maybe look at Belgium instead, that would make more sense.
I understand that movie wants to give a quick overview on the context before throwing the audience into battle. The phone call at the beginning is a cheap and quick way to do so. But here's a better idea: drop the wife at home. This would free up the 5 minutes needed to tell the real story of the legionnaires and why they were there. We don't need to know that the main guy has a wife at home (all humans have families), especially when she serves no function except saying goodbye and hello.
Hell this might even give us time to tell the audience that the cover up led to suicide for some of the soldiers because of the shame that was cast onto them. Clearly the intention of this movie is to do justice by this military unit, and that's certainly a part of it, even though it might hurt some patriotic feelings in Ireland.
I'm not french, but my grandfather served in the legion. His stories about the wars were honest and included the war crimes which they committed. No hurt feelings here except I'm a nerd for history and this movie has missed some great chances for accurate education. The good news is that it could be fixed with very little editing.