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6.7/10
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During World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.During World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.During World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.
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- Won 1 Oscar
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Somewhat familiar, but often very funny anti-war, anti-imperialist satire/farce.
A motley bunch of French, holding down a colonial fort in Africa, discover that WWI has been declared, so go and attack their German neighbors, using their native semi-servants as soldiers, with disastrous results.
Few films manage to wrestle so well, with so many issues – racism, nationalism, religious hypocrisy, etc.
If it kept to it's most original moments, and didn't fall over the edge occasionally into the silly or obviously preachy at times it would be a great film. As is, I might well re-visit. Some professional critics rave, some hate it.
A motley bunch of French, holding down a colonial fort in Africa, discover that WWI has been declared, so go and attack their German neighbors, using their native semi-servants as soldiers, with disastrous results.
Few films manage to wrestle so well, with so many issues – racism, nationalism, religious hypocrisy, etc.
If it kept to it's most original moments, and didn't fall over the edge occasionally into the silly or obviously preachy at times it would be a great film. As is, I might well re-visit. Some professional critics rave, some hate it.
While I would be the first to admit that this slight little film will probably not change your life, it is very clever and well worth watching. It is the story of an inept little French village in West Africa that discovers that World War I has been raging for 6 months. So, as patriotic Frenchmen, they decide to launch a completely inept invasion of a nearby German village--even though they had been on excellent terms for some time. The silly slogans and patriotism as well as the ensuing stupidity of their assault is a great mini-version of the real war back in Europe. The parallel is actually quite smart as is the acting and direction.
A slight movie, yes, but it will give you a little chuckle and it's all harmless fun.
A slight movie, yes, but it will give you a little chuckle and it's all harmless fun.
...Nous Ouvre la Barrière
La Liberté Guide Nos Pas.....
Borrowing from one of the most famous military marches for its original title ("Black and White in color" became the title when it was awarded an AA),"La Victoire En Chantant" remained Annaud's best : bitter and utterly uncompromising qualities .At the time ,he had not been swallowed by the Hollywood machine and he did not need a Brad Pitt to flog his stuff.
His actors are not very famous on an international level but all of them are to be commended:Jean Carmet,Jacques Spiesser,Catherine Rouvel or Jacques Dufilho are all excellent thespians .
Africa 1915:the French colonizers do not know their country is at war.but a geographer learns the whole story and urges his compatriots to join the fight against those Barbarian Germans .There are Germans in the neighborhood,therefore they have become enemies.So let's enlist the natives and let's wage war through "black" intermediaries.
A brilliant metaphor of the absurdity of war,an excellent spoof on jingoist spirit .You should see the heroes having a picnic while their men go to be slaughtered.
La Liberté Guide Nos Pas.....
Borrowing from one of the most famous military marches for its original title ("Black and White in color" became the title when it was awarded an AA),"La Victoire En Chantant" remained Annaud's best : bitter and utterly uncompromising qualities .At the time ,he had not been swallowed by the Hollywood machine and he did not need a Brad Pitt to flog his stuff.
His actors are not very famous on an international level but all of them are to be commended:Jean Carmet,Jacques Spiesser,Catherine Rouvel or Jacques Dufilho are all excellent thespians .
Africa 1915:the French colonizers do not know their country is at war.but a geographer learns the whole story and urges his compatriots to join the fight against those Barbarian Germans .There are Germans in the neighborhood,therefore they have become enemies.So let's enlist the natives and let's wage war through "black" intermediaries.
A brilliant metaphor of the absurdity of war,an excellent spoof on jingoist spirit .You should see the heroes having a picnic while their men go to be slaughtered.
Fall of 1914. French and Germans, living in colonies side by side (Togo or Cameroon, take your pick), feel compelled to be at war with each other since that is what's happening back home, too. Naively and almost playfully at first, until the game starts getting uglier and they experience the horror of casualties nobody had really wanted. Both sides get professional help and they become hardened by the everyday routine (the Germans winning, because their officer studied in Heidelberg...)and start killing each other more efficiently, until finally the war ends and the British arrive to restore law and order in the territories. The long column of British troops, all Africans and Asians, is led by one junior officer on horseback - who when his face is eventually revealed, turns out to be Indian.
Annaud shot the film in the Ivory Coast, then a very staunchly pro-French country. He refused to show anybody the script and pretended he was shooting a very different type of movie. At the gala premiere performance in Abidjan, when the French officials realized the entire picture was a spoof on French colonial policies, they walked out, much to the embarrassment of the Ivorians, who were just as unaware of what Annaud had been up to...
Annaud shot the film in the Ivory Coast, then a very staunchly pro-French country. He refused to show anybody the script and pretended he was shooting a very different type of movie. At the gala premiere performance in Abidjan, when the French officials realized the entire picture was a spoof on French colonial policies, they walked out, much to the embarrassment of the Ivorians, who were just as unaware of what Annaud had been up to...
In this biting satire on war, colonialism and racism, French troops in 1915 Gabon learn that their country has declared war on Germany. Knowing that there are German troops nearby, they decide to train the colonized Africans to fight. Only one person in the French contingent seems to have an iota of reason to his thinking.
I think that "Noirs et blancs en couleur" (called "Black and White in Color" in English) shows imperialism in its most pathetic, depraved form. Not only do the colonizers want the colonized people to fight for the empire, but there's one scene that especially emphasizes this. When some rich people go out for a picnic, they watch the fighting as though it's a spectator sport; a form of entertainment, if you will. But they get mighty shocked when they see how violent it is. Apparently, these colonialists are so completely brainwashed by their own pro-war, nationalistic propaganda, that they fail to realize how ugly war actually is, and they're in for a rude awakening when they find the truth.
Anyway, this is definitely a movie that I recommend. We could use some advice from it, what with the mess that we've made in Iraq. Certainly a good one for Jean-Jacques Annaud, and it definitely deserved Best Foreign Language Film.
I think that "Noirs et blancs en couleur" (called "Black and White in Color" in English) shows imperialism in its most pathetic, depraved form. Not only do the colonizers want the colonized people to fight for the empire, but there's one scene that especially emphasizes this. When some rich people go out for a picnic, they watch the fighting as though it's a spectator sport; a form of entertainment, if you will. But they get mighty shocked when they see how violent it is. Apparently, these colonialists are so completely brainwashed by their own pro-war, nationalistic propaganda, that they fail to realize how ugly war actually is, and they're in for a rude awakening when they find the truth.
Anyway, this is definitely a movie that I recommend. We could use some advice from it, what with the mess that we've made in Iraq. Certainly a good one for Jean-Jacques Annaud, and it definitely deserved Best Foreign Language Film.
Did you know
- TriviaThis was the first winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film after the rules for the category were changed requiring all Academy members who wished to vote having to prove they had attended screenings of all five nominees.
- Quotes
Hubert Fresnoy: We shouldn't expect miracles, and that's not what I expect of you.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'The Lover' (1991)
- SoundtracksLe Chant du Départ
Music by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul
Lyrics by Marie-Joseph Chénier
Performed by Georges Thill
- How long is Black and White in Color?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Black and White in Color
- Filming locations
- Niofoin, Poro, Ivory Coast(multiple locations)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was La victoire en chantant (1976) officially released in India in English?
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