El Alamein

This Italian WWII drama offers a sympathetic and stirring portrait of the long-forgotten courage shown by Italian soldiers during the fierce battle of El Alamein. Burdened with incompetent leadership and inadequate supplies, the soldiers are stuck in a hostile physical and emotional environment: the desert is mercilessly hot during the day and cold in the evening, British aircraft continually bomb their encampments, and German allies only give them the most demeaning of tasks. Despite these indignities and horrors, the soldiers persevere to the best of their abilities. Enzo Monteleone's crisp, no-nonsense direction lends the film vigor and vibrancy, and one cannot help but see the parallels between this conflict and the current war in Iraq. The full-throttle depiction of the battle sequences in El Alamein, a mix of harrowing explosions and deafening chaos, serve as a grim reminder of war's true horror—and stand in stark comparison to the highly sanitized television news coverage we see today. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)