Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975)

  'Chronicle of the Years of Fire' (Chroniue des annees de braise) is a 1975 Algerian film directed by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. It won the Palme d'or in 1975, but has been completely forgotten since.

  Split into 6 chapters: The Years of Ashes, The Years of Embers, The Years of Fire, The Year of the Cart, The Year of the Massacre and November 11, 1954. The story tells of the Algerian war of Independence through the eyes of a peasant (Ahmad). It starts of in a remote village, before moving across deserts and villages, all while the second world war is occurring in the background. One scene, sees Ahmad listening to the radio with other Algerian's in hope Hitler wins the war, so their country can be freed from the French. Another sees a mini-war occur over a river, which is between two pieces of land. Ahmad's life is interlinked to the war, so all of the events are realist, and it is very much a 'look how terrible this war is' type film, and it tries to show it in every way possible. Another, particularly powerful scene, sees Ahmad carrying a child through a hospital with hundreds of injured villagers. The film, leads up to the big revolution at the end, involving a massacre.

  If you can't tell, this film is anti-French and completely biased towards the Algerians. If you forgive it for this, and the three hour running time, it is one of the best African films ever made. That's not saying much, as Africa have created very few widely seen films. 'The Gods Must be Crazy' appears to be the only African film with over 1000 votes on IMDB. This film has 158 votes. Hopefully there will be a 'New Wave' in Africa soon, as there films are wonderfully bizarre.

  Due to the film being so rare, the version I watched was very poor quality (on YouTube here), so it was hard to tell what was happening and the subs were sometimes white on a white background. Making the film's more visceral scenes seem fuzzy and not impressive. The opposite of it's intention.

  The film is relatively dull (unlike the three reviews on IMDB which say it is the greatest film ever made), until the final half an hour. The massacre is unmissable movie-making, and the final scenes are magnificent. It's strange for a film to turn around so close to the end. Everything was cranked up to ten, from the bodycount, to the acting to the mountainous backdrop.

  'Chronicle of the Years of Fire' 'epicness' derives from the large amount of extras in the film. The scenes where Ahmad is carrying the child through the hospital lasts 10 minutes, as the screen is filled with extras. There must be thousands in this film. It wouldn't surprise me if there are more extras in this film, than people who have seen the film!!!

(the best quality picture of this film I could find!)

TO CONCLUDE
Lengthy and boring film with a fantastic ending. Better than 'Xala' not as good as 'Yaaba'

SCORE
66