Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King Day is a relatively new federal holiday and there are few long standing traditions. It is seen as a day to promote equal rights for all Americans, regardless of their background. Some educational establishments mark the day by teaching their pupils or students about the work of Martin Luther King and the struggle against racial segregation and racism. In recent years, federal legislation has encouraged Americans to give some of their time on this day as volunteers in citizen action groups.
 Martin Luther King Day, also known as Martin Luther King’s birthday and Martin Luther King Jr Day, is combined with other days in different states. For example, it is combined with Civil Rights Day in Arizona and New Hampshire, while it is observed together with Human Rights Day in Idaho. It is also a day that is combined with Robert E. Lee’s birthday in some states. The day is known as Wyoming Equality Day in the state of Wyoming.

 I'm going to talk about one of the emblematic figures of the fight against segregation in the USA
On December 1, 1955, in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, who was seated in a seat reserved for whites, refuses to obey a bus driver who asks her to leave her seat and go to the seat. bottom of the vehicle. She is arrested, tried and charged with public disorder and violation of local laws, with a fine of $ 15. She fully assumes her gesture, which however was not premeditated.

"People say I refused to give up my seat because I was tired, but it's not true, I was not physically tired, or no more than usual at the end of a day. I was not old, while some give me the image of an old woman.I was 42. No, the only fatigue I had was to give in. "
Rosa Parks is appealing the judgment. NAACP lawyer Edgar Nixon, seeing the symbolic value of the fight, is asking white lawyer Clifford Durr to agree to challenge the constitutionality of the segregation law. For his part, the 26-year-old pastor Martin Luther King, with the help of African-American community leaders, is launching a non-violent protest campaign and a boycott against the Montgomery bus company, a boycott that will last 381 days. Finally, on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court broke the segregationist laws on buses by declaring them unconstitutional.

Mathilda, Emma

Dunkirk

    The movie Dunkirk tells the story of one of the most tragic events during World War 2. In 1940,  the english, the french and the belgian troops were stook in Dunkirk surronded by the germans. During this period the english tried to escape from the beach where they were trapped. Then the english asked help to England to come over for brought them to their home and delivered them of the grip of the germans thanks to the dynamo operation which consists of crossing the boat sleeve to come and rescue the english.

    The movie show the english side and we follow the journey of some of them. This is an excellent film despite minor flaws. This movie is simply pure emotional, we can go from sadness to joy in a blink of an eye and vice versa. Moreover, this is the kind of movie that enable people aware of the horror of the war and also not to forget the hell that our world has known, that's the reasons why I liked this movie. Despite that, in my opinion, the film lacks actions but it's still a very good movie.

    Christopher Nolan has realized this film perfectly and made it a symbol among the many existing war movies. Not the mention that the actors are very talented and have been able to embody their roles as needed. This is a great movie that everybody should see, I recommand it.  

 

La Grande Vadrouille

During the occupation during the World War II, six british pilots of the Royal Air Force got their plane shot by the Germans when they were flying over Paris, 3 of them, a chief and two pilots end up meeting French people who agree to help them to meet at the "turkish bath" thanks to their code name "tea for two", a famous english song of the time. Then, through several adventures and a lot of humor, trying to join back their country helped by the conductor of an orchestra, a building painter a young woman, a holy sister, and an hotel keeper, they will show us the reality the occupied France and the relationships between this country and Great Britain.

The movie, made in 1966 , is indeniably a masterpiece. Through a very simple sense of humor, Gérard Oury manages to express a criticism of Hitler and the nazis as well as the war itself through the characters of the british. The movie is also making fun of the British by caricaturing them even in their names, Indeed, one of them is called Macintosh, they drink and talk only about tea. The movie plays also on the different opinions within the France as well as the French stereotypes especially through the characters of Stanislas (played by Louis de Funès), the pretentious conductor of an orchestra, and Augustin, the humble building painter.

However, the plot is quite repetitive and the events are predictable since the comic of the movie mainly relies on quiproquos or caricatures. Also, the story is pretty unrealistic because the caracters always manage to avoid being arrested by the Germans while it would actually never happen that way. They also always meet people willing to help them such as the holy sister ir the hotel keeper. Nevertheless, the movie is still a French classic and it's still very comic and instructive at the same time.

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 war film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Davies, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, and many more Hollywood men.

After the Omaha Beach invasion, General George C. Marshall receives the news that three brothers with the last name "Ryan" have all died in combat — two during the Normandy landing, the third in the Pacific — and the location of the fourth, who dropped into France as a paratrooper, is unknown. Miller receives orders to search for the fourth and last Ryan (Damon) so that Ryan can be sent home, and he quickly assembles a small squad to carry out the task.

So we follow throughout this film this group of soldiers whose mission is to save Private Ryan, to bring him back to his mother.

The film earned near-univeral praise from audiences and critics alike; it was the highest-grossing domestic film of 1998 (second-highest-grossing worldwide), and received eleven nominations in that year's Academy Awards (winning five).

Emma Deschamps 1LVA

Mathilda Blanc 1LVA

Wonder Woman

                                                            Wonder Woman

   Wonder woman is a movie of 2017 created by DC production. It's an enigmatic film that's happening in America. She was living on the island paradise when it was announced a war that was preparing on the other side of the Earth. It's the first world war. She will leave and it is like she will discover her super powers because we do not forget that Wonder Woman is a super heroine.


Everything that corresponds to his past and to Greek mythology, sheds light on the Amazons of Themyscira, the paradise island far from the world of men! This fragile and pure side, absolutely essential, gives us a different aspect of this heroine. The fact of retracing your life from start to finish is very important for those who do not know the story .

This film is very well done and I loved the decorations that are just dazzling. The music is great and generally actors have put their role in their skin ! It's a war movie that I recommend to all .

film- La folle histoire de max et leon

           The movie wich I'm going to tell you about is "La folle histoire de Max et Léon". This movie is about two men during the second world war, who don't want to go on the battlefield. So, first, both pretend they are blind but that doesn't work. As their tips to be reformed doesn't work, they are forced to go to war. Then we are going to see the adventures of two friends during the world war two. 

I really appreciate this movie because it is more original than others war film, like Pearl Harbor wich is sad contrarely to this one wich is particullary funny. We can have a good time while watching it, even if it's a war film. The other reason why I like this movie, is because their is a lot of references to movies like "La grande vadrouille", "le mur de l'Atlantique" or "saving private ryan" wich are also war movies. 

"La folle histoire de Max et Léon" has been done by two famous youtubers. Those youtubers are known by the nickname "Le Palmashow" and their real name are David Marsais and Gregoire Ludig. They wrote the script and they are also the main characters of the movie, David as Max and Gregoire as Léon. As they are youtubers a lot of people were not sur about the quality of the movie, meanwhile it has been well received by the critics. As David and Gregoire are really followed on youtube (nearly 3millions followers) and as they are many young peoples who watch their videos, and certainly want to watch the film, the bloody, violent side of the war is really light. 

Au revoir là-haut

This film is the adaptation of the novel of Pierre Lemaître, a french writter who won the "Prix Goncourt" with the book "Au revoir là-haut". In this film, directed by Marc Dupontel (who play the main character too) and the scenario is realised by Marc Dupontel and Pierre Lemaître himself, we see the amazing story of two french soldiers after the war, who are trying to go from rags to riches.

I know it's unusual, but I will start with the ending, which is the imperfection of the film. Indeed, the final scene, after many sudden developments, shows a flimsy "happy-ending": the three protagonists are making a hug and looks very happy, even if one has seen a suicide and the other lost his best friend.

But this is the only minor flaw of the film.The film strenghs lie in two things: the plot and the actors. First, we clearly see the difference between the plot's writer and the "Hollywood" plot. There is always one detail of the narration which serves to surprise the spectator. Every element of the story is use to catch the attention. The plot is splendid. The actors are touching because they feel natural. They are not trying to make us cry, they are human, it never sinks into sentiment. They seem taken by the plot, and we are living the story with them. Both are bringing simply pure emotional power. We can say it's a masterpiece because there is nothing to throw.

Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

   This movie was directed by the famous Quentin Tarantino in 2009. This is the story of the WW2, through the journey of Shosanna Dreyfus, a young jewish girl, persecuted by the SS Colonel Hans Landa who has executed her family.
In parallel it’s the story of a group of American Jewish soldiers named “Bastards” who will try to eliminate important personalities of the Nazi regime.
These two stories will meet to form one.

    The film is excellent despite some minor flaws.

To begin with, Inglorious Basterds is believable and powerful because the plot is based on a real life situation.

The subject of the WW2 may seem repetitive because there are many films on it, but it's worth it to see this one.

The film’s strenght relies on its casting with the presence of famous actors such as Christopher Waltz, Brad Pitt and Mélanie Laurent who bring a remarkable touch, their acting is splendid! However, sometimes, I find the play of Brad Pitt a little bit exaggerated.

    Moreover, this action and war movie is at the same time moving and harrowing. It’s simply emotional power. From my point of view, Tarantino handles this change of registry perfectly. Be careful if you can’t bear to see violence and blood on the screen, because this film is the spitting image of Tarantino!

Musics of Enio Morricone give rhythm to the movie with spectacular landscapes and shots.

The 30 minutes of the beginning are really intense and other scenes too, however apart from these few scenes, the dialogue sometimes seems boring and long...

    Finally, I think it’s a real success. The style "Tarantino" is very quickly identifiable, it’s unique, violent, intelligent, charming while standing out of his other films. As in kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, he perfectly doses each element.  This movie isn’t only for the fans of Tarantino, it’s for people who like intenses stories.

Braveheart

Braveheart

Braveheart is a British movie, it was directed by Mel Gibson who was also the character, William Wallace, a Scottish man. This film was brought to screen in 1995. It won five Oscars. A french actress starring is in this film and it's Sophie Marceau who plays the role of Isabelle of France.

Braveheart is about Scottland in at the end of the 13th century and William Wallace's fight for independence from the English. This movie began with childhood of William Wallace and the death of his father and brother in a fight. Wallace is married and his wife is executed by the English; he rebels against the man who is behind the death of his wife. Isabelle, princess of France, is the daughter-in-law of Edouard I. Isabelle becomes his mistress and informs him of what is happening at the English court. She gets pregnant with William Wallace.

William Wallace begins to make Scotland free with Robert the Bruce.

Wallace is judged treasonable, so he is beaten and handed over to the English. Wallace is taken to a square in the Tower of London to be executed and tortured.

The voice of Mel Gibson is present at the end of the film, he says that the Scots have won freedom.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman was released in 2017. It was directed by Patty Jenkins. Gal Gadot starred in with Chris Pine. The movie was brought to screen in 2017.

During World War II, a british spy in the German army discovers a secret island in the Atlantic Ocean where are living women warriors known as " Amazones ". There, he meets Diana, the princess of the island. One day, he told her a story about a terrible war that took place on the other side of the planet. Diana leaves her city to go to war because she's convinced that she can stop it and beat "Aves", the Greek god of the war.

The plot of the movie is interesting and the way the reality is mixed with superheroes and mythology is pleasing. The critic of the war is expressed through the characters of Diana who's Wonder Woman who doesn't understand why people are fighting for.

The character of Diana is a cliché because of the way she dresses with sexy clothes. The actress was also Miss Israel.

I really like the movie since it shows the strength of women and their courage.

WAR FILM REVIEW - FURY

FURY was released on October 22, 2014 at the french box office, with a casting of well known actors, like Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Scott Eastwood...

This movie tell a World War II story :
In April 1945, the Allies are making their final push in the European theater. A battle-hardened Army sergeant named Don "Wardaddy" Collier, leading a Sherman tank and a five-man crew, undertakes a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

On my own, i think FURY is a great and impressive action movie, we can discern some points of the war that we could not saw in oldest war movies such as hopeless and outnumbered soldiers.

I really like the storyline of this movie, but on the other hand, some scenes of this movie are a little too unrealistic for me, like the final one where Wardaddy dies in hero after killing a lot of germans soldiers without the help of anyone, we are on the right track towards the desidealization of soldiers, but there is still work to be done.

Overall, Fury is a well-acted, suitably raw depiction of the horrors of war that offers visceral battle scenes but doesn't quite live up to its background larger ambitions.

Bastien Esquiros.

Time Magazine

This week, the 18th of December, in the Time Magazine, there is an article about Camille Jones who's the Washington State 2017 Teacher of the Year. She changed the way her students learn. She calls her class STEAM : S for science, T for technology, E engineering, A for the arts and M for maths. She find their strength, skills and she challenged them. She has a different and special task for each one of them. She wants her students to come in her class with the feeling of being loved. She likes to see them exciting to do what she creates for them.