Le Crépuscule des braves

Picking this movie up from the library shelf, I didn't read anything on the box about it being historically accurate or factual so I didn't expect to get a history lesson by watching it. For a one hundred minute made for TV movie I wasn't at all disappointed, and felt entertained for the time I invested in it. Besides being filmed on location, it appeared a good effort was made in the uniform and prop department and it did not have a Hollywood look or feel to it. I would recommend this movie to those who like westerns; and don't have an eye and ear for knowing it all, or watch movies for their political or social messages. I did notice that their 1873 Colt's had the wrong frame for the time period, and the cylinders weren't beveled as they should have been, but I guess we all have to find fault somewhere, even us simple mined folk. Watch it, and enjoy it for what it is.

"Buffalo Soldiers' is an average western/adventure entry that tell a story about a troop in the U.S. Army after the Civil War exclusively for black soldiers. Based on this historical point, the movie is concerned with some crucial aspects of these arrangements: the bad treatment that was given to the black soldiers by some of the white officials, the evident absurdity of serve in the U.S Army, die for the country and not receive an equal treatment and some other minor stuffs. 'Buffalo Soldiers' tries to do that without lose the sense of adventure and action along the way. Here, the success is just mild. Sometimes, you feel that the dialogs are a bit too dialectical, too political, to be really natural. And the ending is a bit too unreal, maybe, especially when one considers the shape of conscience of the sergeant-major, played by Danny Golver. All considered, that is not a bad movie. But its commitment to discuss aspects like freedom, self-conscience, compassion and respect for the Apache culture, weighed the movie a bit too heavy. Good performances all around, especially Carl Lumbly as the scout named Horse.

"Buffalo Soldiers" is a very frustrating film. It's about a seldom talked about group of black cavalry soldiers who helped tame and protect the west during the late 19th century and it's nice to see them get their due. Unfortunately, late in the film, the writers are very fast and loose with history and give us an ending that is just wrong and never happened.

The story shows the men and how they often were mistreated and mischaracterized by the white officers who sometimes hated them for their skin color. Not all the white officers in the film seemed to feel this way...but the General does and this makes it tough for these brave men. And, as they try to find and locate a renegade group of the Mescalero Apache tribe, he often gives them lousy assingments and seemed to look for reasons to blame their failure on their skin. And the ending....well, this simply never happened which is a problem since the story is set during the so-called 'Victorio's Wars'...and the Victorio in the film and his real life and fate are at complete odds with each other. Worth seeing but seriously flawed.

All the usual whiners about "political correctness" are, of course, missing the point. Buffalo Soldiers doesn't suffer for showing the truth about racial disparity. It suffers for only showing some of that truth while at the same time being dramatically weak.

For instance, it's obvious the Whites are for the most part either outright hostile to the Black and Native Americans -- which is historically accurate -- or else treating them as invisible -- which is also historically accurate. The whiners may not like that, but maybe they need to take that up with their culture.

Where the story falls down is in not fully examining the combined racism toward the Native Americans. Now, it's historically true that there was less animosity among the minorities toward each other in the old west, including the Black, Asian, and Native Americans stuck there. That doesn't mean there was universal peace, but minorities were allowed to marry one another, for instance, while they were shunned or forbidden to marry someone who was not a minority. But this film, in focusing on the racial tensions between the Whites and Blacks, generally overlooks their combined hostility toward the Native Americans.

The other problem is the script is wildly uneven, lacking much dramatic weight. Oh, yes, there are some tense scenes, but they're also frequently undermined by melodramatic dialogue that reminds you you're watching a TV movie. The pacing is not like a film but more like a few episodes of a TV series hastily patched together.

As with a lot of film and television of the past 40 or so years, more attention is paid to the technical aspects than the artistic ones. So, for instance, they get the uniforms and weapons basically right. They film on location. If as much time and effort were spent on polishing the script and editing the finished product, it might have been much better.

From the title, I expected a good overview of the Buffalo Soldiers. Instead, we get a drawn out, soap-opera-ish tale of hunting down a single Indian villain. Since I missed the first minute or two of opening credits, this script may have been pure fiction for all I know. As one complaint, there is no mention of John Pershing's (of World War I fame) association with these troops.

As could be expected, the wrongs and conflicts from racism are well set forth. Nonetheless, the Buffalo Soldiers, many ex-slaves, proudly risk their lives and stay in the cavalry by choice.

The acting is commendable, particularly that of Danny Glover as the central character. Some '90s idioms (the 1990s, that is) find their way into the dialog.

Given the title and the general ignorance (myself included) about the Buffalo Soldiers, this tv movie was very disappointing. Surely, these men did a lot more on the frontier than they are credited with here.