The generic title underplays the importance of this French war film, which does something utterly shocking from an American perspective: it pays respect to France’s allies, too. Not since the days of World War II movies have any American films bothered to mark our allies, even in passing. (A brief straw poll on my social media about the presence of any non-American combatants in any American war film made in the last two decades mentioned Ralph Fiennes’ cameo in The Hurt Locker and otherwise came up blank.) One of course could argue that this is because of the different roles different countries play in these wars, but the end result – flag-covered coffins – unfortunately often remains the same. The desperate attempts of all the people in this story to stay alive in this fictionalised retelling of the evacuation of Kabul in August 2021 also shows how the French hero of this film uses his gun. Which is to say, he doesn’t. Diplomacy is his weapon, and for those of us who are not French, 13 Days, 13 Nights is a very sharp reminder of this most elegant weapon.
Mohamed Bida (Roschdy Zem) is the deputy ambassador of the French embassy in Afghanistan, so is basically the fixer who knows everybody and can handle anything. He’s the kind of guy everyone tells their secrets to, because you just know they are safe with him. He is also technically and officially a policeman, therefore answerable to different parts of French bureaucracy than the diplomats and/or the military, and somewhat hilariously within weeks of his retirement. As the Taliban approach, he makes a kamikaze drive across Kabul to rescue a close personal friend whose senior role in the previous government administration means the Taliban are hunting him personally. On the way back through the crowds outside the embassy gates, he rescues NGO worker Eva (Lyna Khoudri) and her mother, dual French-Afghan citizens who waited until the last possible moment to flee thanks to their disbelief that the situation could deteriorate so quickly. Then Mohamed takes a look at the desperate crowds and does something wonderful, or foolhardy, or suicidal, depending on who you ask: he instructs the guards to open the gates and let everybody in.
This is obviously a problem. The embassy didn’t plan to suddenly have responsibility for hundreds of extra people of all ages. There are limited supplies, and it’s impossible to know if everybody is who they say they are. Also having Mo’s badly injured friend with them endangers everyone in the embassy, diplomatic immunity or not. The marines, headed by Martin (Christophe Montenez, who has a real gift for playing unpleasant bastards) are not delighted to have all this sudden extra responsibility, but after some debate they begrudgingly concede that saving lives here is the point. There’s also a journalist, Kate (Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen), who is very, very good at her job, which of course often clashes with embassy priorities. Eva and Kate between them have the contacts to enable everyone to physically get from the embassy and onto the road to the airport. And Mo has the detailed knowledge of the city to know how to finesse the way there. But there’s only one way out of this mess: Mo and Eva, a native speaker, must go negotiate with terrorists.
The close focus on Mo’s routines in this mayhem means that the logistics of how everyone is fed and watered is largely ignored except to assert repeatedly that it is difficult and stressful. The mayhem at Kabul airport also follows Mo a little too closely. That is, until Mo stops to chat with an American soldier named Nicole, who is introduced holding a baby but who, despite her youth and inexperience, is revealed to be a good soldier, smart and observant. It’s still very unusual for a war movie to have any central female characters, much less three vital participants. What Kate does while the convoy is stopped is as impressive an act of bravery as it’s possible to imagine, and what happens to her as a result is very, very upsetting.
This egalitarian inclusiveness means there’s a startling level of poignancy when Mo later pauses to pay his respects to a group of coffins covered with American flags. This is such a gesture of respect despite the cliché that it’s heartstopping to watch as an American, who must reckon with the shaming fact that our art just simply does not do this. The illusions that America has about our place on the world’s battlefields is underlined by art that has our war machine fighting alone. Our war machine might be the biggest and the best resourced, and it might be such a juggernaut that other nations must meet all our terms if they want to be included, but here’s a huge reminder that we Americans have not previously fought alone. That may well change of course, but this would be because we turn our back on our friends, not because we have no friends in the first place. This therefore makes 13 Days, 13 Nights absolutely essential for any American aficionado of war movies. And just simply by not being American, 13 Days, 13 Nights will find success elsewhere in the world as well.
Director Martin Bourboulon, who recently delighted with his two-part blockbuster adaptation of The Three Musketeers (which also starred Ms. Khoudri, but which did not get American distribution), seems to have assigned himself the project of making big movies which tell big French stories for a French audience. (He has also been the artistic producer behind the delightful foodie/espionage TV romp Carême, in which Ms. Khoudri again has the lead role and Mr. Montenez plays an unpleasant bastard.) This movie is an adaption, by Mr. Bourboulon and Alexandre Smia, of the memoir by Mr. Bida, who was present at the Cannes Film Festival premiere and who got huge applause from the crowd. In one brief moment the ambassador is struggling to put his suit jacket on over his flak jacket and Mo lends a hand, causing the ambassador to chuckle a little and say, “Elegance above all, eh.” It is impossible to imagine an American movie with this ethos, but it’s clear this French one has quite a bit to offer.
13 Days, 13 Nights (13 jours, 13 nuits) recently played at the Cannes Film Festival.
Learn more about the film at the Cannes site for the title.
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