:
Paolo Briguglia,
Paolo Briguglia,
Pierfrancesco Favino,
more...
:
Enzo Monteleone,
Enzo Monteleone
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Fox Lorber
: Drama, Foreign, Politics and Social Issues, Italy, War, WWII
: 117 min.
: Italian
: English
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Enzo Monteleone's World War II drama El Alamein: The Line of Fire is concerned with the life of Italian soldiers. Lieutenant Fiore (Emilio Solfrizzi) leads a group of soldiers stationed in Egypt. The troops, including Sargent Rizzo (Pierfrancesco Favino) and newbie Serra (Paolo Briguglia), are constantly under attack from the British. Eventually the commands from the military hierarchy become indecipherable, and the madness and horror of war overtake the men. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
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| An Eye-Opening, Strange and Moving Look at the "Enemy"
by talltale
September 25, 2005 - 7:09 AM PDT
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5 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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One of the finest of modern war movies (even though its subject is the pre-, during and post- of a famous WWII battle in North Africa between Italians and British), EL ALAMEIN is beautiful, elegiac, grave, real and moving. It manages to put the viewer into the heat and heart of battle without focusing mainly on blood and guts. (Those are present, but they don't constitute the "all.")
I believe this film was one of--perhaps THE--highest-grossing in Italy during the year of its release. Perhaps Italians were eager to learn more of their history, even when that history shows them to have been the villains and losers of a major, history-making war. You won't find villains and losers in "El Alamein," however, and this of course accounts for the film's popularity. Most often, these men are caring, intelligent yet sheep-like victims of circumstance. From the fresh faced recruit (who volunteers, yet!) to the kindly under-educated sergeant, each character is rounded and memorable.
The lion's share of scorn is left to certain cowardly/hypocritical officers, to Mussolini's penchant for putting highly-shined shoes above rations and replacements, and to the Germans. Even the British are seen only as (with one sad exception) the faceless enemy. I would hope that Americans who give this film a chance will be moved by the plight of these men, even though--yes--they were the "enemy" a half century ago.
When I first saw "El Alamein" at a NYC screening two years ago, I spoke with director Enzo Monteleone, who told me he had hopes that it might be released in America, and particularly in Britain, whose men had fought in this war. We never saw it here, but I hope Monteleone got his wish regarding Britain. It would be most interesting to know England's reaction to this major, very-nearly-great war film. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.89)
9 Votes
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