Victorian Propaganda

Rating: 1/10 (22 January 2012)

This movie is ridiculous. They tell us that it is made after real events, but it contains not much reality except the really nice cinematography. For Example the Mass Wedding Scene at the beginning, there are no children, no old people either. There is no explanation why at the same day 1200 British soldiers could have been overrun by an Army of Zulu Warriors and later a group of 100 Riflemen could defend against 4000 Zulus. My explanation: it did not happen as it was shown in the movie. The 1200 where overrun, because they where moving by foot in the plain. The 100 Riflemen could defend because the where also in a plain, but inside a fort. They could shoot down the Zulus just like an animal herd. But that is not heroic. There is a simple political reason why the soldiers were given 11 Victoria crosses : for the press, to make forget the disaster that happened on the same day. That is why the acting in the movie is so ridiculous, the Zulus break into the first barrier then withdraw only to get shot down in the next attack. The Zulu commander is making insane and absurd decisions only to make them look strange. He is sending his first wave of warriors to stand up in front of the British riflemen only to get shot down and "test their firepower". The unheroic advance of firepower on the British side transmutes here into mysterious Strategies on the Zulu side. In Fact, the Zulus had a Kingdom for at least 100 Years. You cannot rule and conquer a Kingdom by ridiculous Strategies. But you can destroy it by far advanced firepower. As one of the Commanders says in the End: "I feel ashamed". Propaganda should always be a reason for shame.