The Fallen (film)
Encyclopedia
The 2004 film, The Fallen by director Ari Taub
Ari Taub
Ari Taub is a Canadian Greco-Roman wrestler.Taub is Jewish, and was born in Montreal, Quebec. He resides in Calgary, Alberta, and is an attorney....

 is a World War II film depicting the confusion of both sides in occupied Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The film portrays partisans and regular soldiers ineffectively coursing through the difficult mountainous terrain. The suggestive dialogue is seen with a minute portrayal of dark humor during combat where both sides are hesitant to win over the other side due to the chaotic nature of discord, disorganization and the conflicts of war in general.

Plot

A group of uniformed but inexperienced quartermasters are tasked with taking ammo to the front line. The American soldiers meet with an insane American deserter. While on route to their destination, the jeep breaks down and they abandon the jeep. Despite protestations, they commandeer the refugees' wheelbarrow, and set off cross-country on foot. The refugees get the vehicle started and make use of it themselves.

Meanwhile, the Italian troops who are treated as inferiors by their German counterparts, are given rations. The fact that they are allotted half rations causes a riot. The Germans also wish the Italians to take on the lesser task of confronting the partisans, rather than take on the Americans directly for their own gain. When the two Italian parties meet they are reluctant to fight, the partisans coerce some men to swap sides. When the Italian troops run into the pseudo-partisans, some of them become Communist sympathizers to avoid death. Their leader is shot and his two henchmen are recruited into the army.

The Americans take shelter in a farm overnight. A majority of them are of Italian descent, including one socially accepted combat-soldier who accompanies them. An alleged Scottish resident sheltering with them is actually a German spy and radios their position to the German army officer who is constantly having trouble with cut communication cables.

The Italian troops bravely resist in a confrontation with the quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...

group, yet are later faced with a tank, killing a lead member of their group. The quartermasters reach the front line until they are requested to help with the battle by engaging the Germans directly. The Germans have the disadvantage of not directly engaging with the partisans because communication cable lines are constantly cut.

The Germans are ordered to retreat except for the commanding officer himself, one sergeant and an earlier soldier who has lost his leg in the course of combat. The volunteers stay behind knowing that they will certainly die. The main opposing officer and unnamed soldier take position in a machine gun nest for their last stand. They make a heroic effort, all dying in the process, while taking as many Americans with them as possible, finally being killed by the crazy deserter whom they met in the beginning of the film.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK