La Bandera

Rating:
Summary: True warriors and not sorry imitations...
Review: I must confess I have rated it five stars because the novel is very good, and even if the film can't give justice to the scope or deepness of the plot for lack of film time (actually the end of the novel is far more interesting and less abrupt) it is a fair transcript of it, the direction is very good and Gabin shows what will make him an icon of french "cinematographie".
A "Bandera" was'nt a flag (but you still call a flag "bandera" too!), it's the name used to refer a battalion in "Tercio" organisation (originally two companies of fusiliers/grenadiers and one of machine-guns at first, and quite fast another company of fusiliers/grenadiers was added...), the Tercio expanded from Three Banderas to eventually Eight up to 1927.
I do not know who influenced who either William Wellman was influenced by it or the oposite as some scenes of his "Beau Geste" are quite similar in "cadre" (as when the troops are formed inside the fort before going to be split in "Beau Geste" causing the forced separation of the brothers, and in "La Bandera" it's the asking for "voluntarios" to go to certain death in a quasi suicidal mission, probably inspired in true fact as per "el blocao de la muerte"... see the excellent work "The Betrothed of Death" in english to know details about it...).
Now, Spain was well past his Might and Glory in the XXth century (having lost his remainig overseas possessions Cuba and the Phillipinnes to the USA in 1898), and was/is a poorer country than France, so his Foreign Legion, the true embrio of a professional army (really the name never catched and has always been known as the "Tercio" or the "Legion", and quite properly as his composition has never been so full of foreigners as his french model...) has'nt received the publicity or even their fare share of recognition as military values go, and undoubtedly hampered by their use in a cruel civil war ...
Rating the film lower will be not very just if you have in mind the time of shooting (1939),and it's more fair to compare it with "Morocco" that to "Beau Geste" due to the difference in budget and technical suport.
The REAL TROOPS used in the film are an unexpected bonus in it, and lovers of military history and uniformology will love it just for that (as I did). The military record of the Legion and his reputation is second to none and is particularly heroic in it's beginnings, Millan-Astray was the founder and true spirit behind it (and not a fascist at all, see his biography...) and Franco the soldier (not the dictator) was the brains behind him.
I was born in Barcelona and the scenes filmed in location are really nostalgic.
If you are able to watch it without prejudice, and concentrate in the Legion virtues forged by Milan-Astray, wich inspires the antics of the captain of Gabin/Gillieth company... then you'll watch a warriors film, and probably quite "true" for his time and not at all Hollywoodesque , (and forget the Spanish Civil War for two hours or less, after all wich country has'nt got a civil war at one time or another... time uses to put things in perspective... Nationalistic repression was rude after the war but if you think life was easy in Spain before and during the war in the "democratic" republican side and excesses were not commited too, then you've read too much Hemingway or Orwell...)
War isn't fair, but the men who must fight them sometimes achieve glory.
Romantic but realistic too, and really vintage (and for once I do not miss Dietrich or Cooper...).
The transfer is probably the best they could do about it, and I agree it's absolutly idiot to not be able to hide the subtitles but the world isn't perfect...
So, have a feel of what was a bitter colonial war 1920-1927 and see in action "the best infantry in the world" (as novelist/journalist Perez Reverte has brilliantly said: "it was the only remaining option..." the poor translation is mine.
Then, "legionarios a luchar, legionarios a morir" it is.

Rating:
Summary: Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!
Review: La Bandera is an earlier pairing of actor Jean Gabin and director Julien Duvivier prior to their much-imitated classic, Pepe le Moko. In La Bandera, both Duvivier and Gabin show flashes of their later brilliance in Pepe, but never quite hit the same level.

Bandera tells the story of Pierre Gilieth (Gabin). The film opens with Gilieth killing a man in Paris. The scene quickly shifts to a cheap boarding house in Barcelona, where Gilieth is hiding from the law... He is robbed one night and joins the Spanish Foreign Legion just to eat. His Legion unit is stationed in North Africa, and this is where the film shines. The African scenes were all filmed on location at actual Spanish Foreign Legion forts and towns. Locals and tribesmen are constantly sniping at the soldiers, but Duvivier makes these seem larger than life by never actually showing them. You never see the enemy in any of the combat sequences, and somehow this makes them seem more threatening.

Once in Africa, Gilieth and his mates start to frequent a brothel and Gilieth falls in love and marries a local girl. He also develops a conflict with another soldier, who may or may not be a real threat to him...

If you see the amazon.com trivia section, you'll notice that this film was originally dedicated to Spanish General Franco, and that this was removed after the Spanish Civil War. Its interesting as this film had to be made just prior to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and in fact uses scenes of real Spanish Legion soldiers. These soldiers were in fact Franco's shock troops of the civil war and his real power base both prior to the conflict and during it. I suppose its nothing more than historical trivia, but in a way it accounts for the way La Bandera has been generally forgotten. I know this film has also been compared (a little unfavorably) with Beau Geste, but I suspect the way it glorifies the Spanish Legion just prior to the Spanish Civil war and the Legion's role in the fascist victory accounts for the film's relative obscurity...

Regarding the dvd, I'm a bit disappointed. The film is watchable, for sure, but the transfer is nowhere near the quality of something Criterion or Kino would produce. There is plenty of dirt and noise, and the print itself is quite soft (usually indicating a bad attempt at cleaning it). The soundtrack has plenty of noise and hiss, and is obviously untouched. Compared to some recent Criterion releases from similar dates that look like they were produced yesterday, the La Bandera transfer is a disappointment. Perhaps worse, the English subtitles are not great, and are non-removable, so even if you can understand the French you are stuck watching the film with bad subtitles.

In any case, La Bandera is a pleasant diversion for anybody who enjoys older adventure films or early French cinema. It provides a chance to see two famous stars, director Duvivier and actor Jean Gabin before they completely hit their stride, and yet the result is sill entertaining and energetic. Gabin in particular really shows flashes of his later charm! You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Duvivier and Gabin, not quite at the level of Pepe le Moko!
Review: La Bandera is an earlier pairing of actor Jean Gabin and director Julien Duvivier prior to their much-imitated classic, Pepe le Moko. In La Bandera, both Duvivier and Gabin show flashes of their later brilliance in Pepe, but never quite hit the same level.

Bandera tells the story of Pierre Gilieth (Gabin). The film opens with Gilieth killing a man in Paris. The scene quickly shifts to a cheap boarding house in Barcelona, where Gilieth is hiding from the law... He is robbed one night and joins the Spanish Foreign Legion just to eat. His Legion unit is stationed in North Africa, and this is where the film shines. The African scenes were all filmed on location at actual Spanish Foreign Legion forts and towns. Locals and tribesmen are constantly sniping at the soldiers, but Duvivier makes these seem larger than life by never actually showing them. You never see the enemy in any of the combat sequences, and somehow this makes them seem more threatening.

Once in Africa, Gilieth and his mates start to frequent a brothel and Gilieth falls in love and marries a local girl. He also develops a conflict with another soldier, who may or may not be a real threat to him...

If you see the amazon.com trivia section, you'll notice that this film was originally dedicated to Spanish General Franco, and that this was removed after the Spanish Civil War. Its interesting as this film had to be made just prior to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and in fact uses scenes of real Spanish Legion soldiers. These soldiers were in fact Franco's shock troops of the civil war and his real power base both prior to the conflict and during it. I suppose its nothing more than historical trivia, but in a way it accounts for the way La Bandera has been generally forgotten. I know this film has also been compared (a little unfavorably) with Beau Geste, but I suspect the way it glorifies the Spanish Legion just prior to the Spanish Civil war and the Legion's role in the fascist victory accounts for the film's relative obscurity...

Regarding the dvd, I'm a bit disappointed. The film is watchable, for sure, but the transfer is nowhere near the quality of something Criterion or Kino would produce. There is plenty of dirt and noise, and the print itself is quite soft (usually indicating a bad attempt at cleaning it). The soundtrack has plenty of noise and hiss, and is obviously untouched. Compared to some recent Criterion releases from similar dates that look like they were produced yesterday, the La Bandera transfer is a disappointment. Perhaps worse, the English subtitles are not great, and are non-removable, so even if you can understand the French you are stuck watching the film with bad subtitles.

In any case, La Bandera is a pleasant diversion for anybody who enjoys older adventure films or early French cinema. It provides a chance to see two famous stars, director Duvivier and actor Jean Gabin before they completely hit their stride, and yet the result is sill entertaining and energetic. Gabin in particular really shows flashes of his later charm! You won't be disappointed!