"The biggest adventure": Indigenous People and White Men's Wars

Abstract

Some years ago I was staying with friends in Nice in the South of France. One Sunday my hosts took me to the cinema. When we arrived there ñ just before 11 oíclock in the morning ñ there was already a long queue waiting to buy tickets. I was somewhat surprised since it was so early on a Sunday morning, but by the time we came out I understood why the film we had just seen had caused such a stir in France and was so highly regarded by critics and public alike.2 Made by the director Rachid Bouchareb and filmed in France and Morocco, it was called simply Indigènes ñ or The Indigenous ñ and focused on the story of the North African colonial troops who had fought on the side of the French in the Second World War from 1943 to 1945.