Lt. Borri (Frederick Stafford) is not so much a martinet as he is a relatively brave man who is ashamed of the Italian Army's accurate reputation for cowardice. Throughout the film, the Italians are excused for their cowardice by showing them as disillusioned and betrayed by their allies, the Germans. Rommel may be anti-Nazi, but he willingly sacrifices Italian troops to protect his own, which he really did. Borri tries to prove to his British foes and to himself that not all Italians are cowards, and winds up mistaking foolhardiness for courage.
The Italians are shown as the only soldiers thinking about their families back home, like Borri's brother. This another attempt to show that they are not cowards, just peaceful, ordinary men - as if most Britons and Germans weren't. When Lt. Borri is captured by the British, no other Italian POWs will join him in his escape. They are all glad to be out of the war.
In the end, Lt. Borri sacrifices his life in a heroic gesture history shows was ultimately futile. His brother and the others are taken prisoner, proud but no doubt also glad to be out of the war. Borri's brother will live to see his wife and child - if they aren't killed when the Allies invade Italy in 1943. They will spend the next 2 years slowly fighting their way against the Germans to the Alps. Italy will be ravaged in the process. That was the ultimate price Italian families paid for the cowardice of their soldiers, who mostly never expressed any regret.
A well-acted, moving, if cheaply made film. However, like "Brave Gente", it is another apologia for the pathetic performance of the Italian Army. This "army" had to use poison gas to beat the Ethiopians.
The Italians are shown as the only soldiers thinking about their families back home, like Borri's brother. This another attempt to show that they are not cowards, just peaceful, ordinary men - as if most Britons and Germans weren't. When Lt. Borri is captured by the British, no other Italian POWs will join him in his escape. They are all glad to be out of the war.
In the end, Lt. Borri sacrifices his life in a heroic gesture history shows was ultimately futile. His brother and the others are taken prisoner, proud but no doubt also glad to be out of the war. Borri's brother will live to see his wife and child - if they aren't killed when the Allies invade Italy in 1943. They will spend the next 2 years slowly fighting their way against the Germans to the Alps. Italy will be ravaged in the process. That was the ultimate price Italian families paid for the cowardice of their soldiers, who mostly never expressed any regret.
A well-acted, moving, if cheaply made film. However, like "Brave Gente", it is another apologia for the pathetic performance of the Italian Army. This "army" had to use poison gas to beat the Ethiopians.