Zulu (1964)

First viewing with the original audio; previously viewed dubbed in Portuguese on May 26, 1996.

South Africa, 1879. The Zulu attack a small detachment around a British field hospital. There are 150 soldiers to defend the hospital site from 4000 Zulus. The detachment leader decides to resist at any cost.

This is an exceptionally well made film which, nevertheless, makes painfully clear the impossibility of mixing History and drama without telling lies. The worst lie in this film is to depict as pacifists respectively the missionary and the surgeon. This creates drama, without which the film would be considered rather monotonous. But real life closed environments produce populations with uniform worldviews. It is rather absurd to assume that pacifists could thrive in a war environment. They wouldn't want to be there in the first place. And you can check Wikipedia and confirm that indeed they lied about this. Another pathetic lie is the Zulu salute at the end. War is not about bravery and noble feelings. It's just another human affair which has its own rules and which throughout the centuries has molded the human brain and given it the capacity of hatred and violence. But, again, that would not make for emotional drama, so... This criticism should not imply that this film does not have many qualities and is all fantasy. The military aspect is, to all appearances, very realistic. And it makes for an entertaining spectacle.

Rating: 57 (up from 50)