# Do all countries make patriotic action movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 12, 2024, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203 "2024-04-12T17:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/41 "2024-04-13T12:21:45Z")
Mexico certainly has produced movies that glorify national heroes, e.g. the Zapata film about 25 years ago. It starred a singer who is the son of Vicente Fernandez, a kind of Frank Sinatra figure whose songs also embody Mexico’s patriotic pride. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/42 "2024-04-13T12:30:23Z")
I just looked it up and the trailer is amazing(ly gory). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/43 "2024-04-13T12:35:23Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > which I haven’t seen, but googling makes it sound good. Don’t know how patriotic it is. I’d not heard of that one. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/44 "2024-04-13T13:02:46Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > United Kingdom: _Lawrence of Arabia_, _Zulu_, _Dunkirk_ > > France: _Lucie Aubrac_, **La grande vadrouille** , _L’Armée des ombres_ > > Soviet Union: Virtually all films, especially those of Sergei Eisenstein. > > Stranger Bolding mine. Patriotic, sure, to the extent that it takes place during WWII and the Germans are the bad guys… But an action movie ? It’s a comedy, and a rather harmless one at that. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/45 "2024-04-13T13:33:08Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > There was a TV movie called [The Chronicle of 1812](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207283/) Is a movie about > A ragtag group of British Grenadiers stationed in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 are recruited to escort a Spanish dignitary to safety while being persude by American forces. a patriotic Canadian action movie? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/46 "2024-04-13T13:35:12Z")
> [@Moonrise](#): > > It’s a comedy, and a rather harmless one at that. Agreed. I remember seeing it years ago, and finding it amusing, but also having the eye opening realization that France is in the business of mythmaking about its war history as much as the US or anyone else. (This was long before I moved to Europe and expanded my horizons.) Every single French civilian the British pilots encounter hates the Nazis and is happy to aid their flight, even at the risk of their own safety; they never come across anyone Vichy affiliated who might identify or report them. Evidently the Germans are occupying France entirely on their own power without any kind of support or assistance from French sympathizers. Yes, it’s a comedy, and therefore not the place for complex morality or difficult history. But its massive popularity in France suggests a desire to embrace a simpler view of the past, in which all our friends and relatives were heroes and the crimes were entirely committed by outsiders. Just like how Americans want to believe none of their ancestors owned slaves, or any of a dozen other examples of historical blurring to salve the modern conscience. Sorry, didn’t mean this to be so long. I agree that this is a silly comedy. Patriotic, no question (to an extreme). But not an action movie. (My other takeaway from the movie was wondering who ever thought Terry-Thomas was funny, but that’s another thread.) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/47 "2024-04-13T13:43:09Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Why can’t all American patriotic films be like that one? Because we can’t handle the truth? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/48 "2024-04-13T13:50:10Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > _A Few Good Men_ involved neither guns nor action. Why can’t all American patriotic films be like that one? Is _A Few Good Men_ patriotic in the rah-rah sense being discussed? I certainly wouldn’t say so. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/49 "2024-04-13T13:51:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Is a movie about > > > A ragtag group of British Grenadiers stationed in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 are recruited to escort a Spanish dignitary to safety while being persude by American forces. > > a patriotic Canadian action movie? Well, it was set in a time when Canadians still considered themselves British, and it has the Yanks as the bad guys. IMHO, it’s close enough. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I just Googled “Swiss action movies” and discovered [Mad Heidi](https://ravenbanner.store/products/mad-heidi-standard-edition): > > > In a dystopian Switzerland that has fallen under the fascist rule of an evil cheese tyrant (Casper Van Dien), Heidi (Alice Lucy) lives a pure and simple life in the Swiss Alps. Grandfather Alpöhi (David Schofield) does his best to protect Heidi, but her desire for freedom soon lands her in trouble with the dictator’s henchmen. When pushed too far the innocent Heidi transforms into a kick-ass warrior who sets out to liberate her country from the heinous cheese fascists. You left out the best line! > MAD HEIDI is an action-adventure exploitation extravaganza based on the popular children‘s book character Heidi and the world’s first Swissploitation film. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/50 "2024-04-13T13:53:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > Is a movie about > > > > > A ragtag group of British Grenadiers stationed in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 are recruited to escort a Spanish dignitary to safety while being persude by American forces. > > > > a patriotic Canadian action movie? > > Well, it was set in a time when Canadians still considered themselves British, and it has the Yanks as the bad guys. IMHO, it’s close enough. If it’s disqualified because there was no Canada, then _The Patriot_ should also be disqualified. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/51 "2024-04-13T13:56:33Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Is _A Few Good Men_ patriotic in the rah-rah sense being discussed? I certainly wouldn’t say so. It’s patriotic in the Aaron Sorkin sense - “the American system is fundamentally good and this is how it’s supposed to work.” See also _the West Wing._ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/52 "2024-04-13T14:01:50Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I watched _Andrei Rublev_ recently. A 205-minute masterpiece, but already in the first scene, let alone watching the entire first chapter, you can see why it was shelved. I haven’t seen. Thought I wanted to see it until now. _Alexander Nevsky_ is visually stunning at times, but has plenty of failings as a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/53 "2024-04-13T14:10:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Babale](#): > > > > Is _A Few Good Men_ patriotic in the rah-rah sense being discussed? I certainly wouldn’t say so. > > It’s patriotic in the Aaron Sorkin sense - “the American system is fundamentally good and this is how it’s supposed to work.” See also _the West Wing._ Allhough A Few Good Men is hardly an “action movie”, in the same way, would some of the movies about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police count as patriotic action films? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/54 "2024-04-13T14:16:39Z")
Except most of them were made in Hollywood. > **[Hollywood's Canada: The Americanization of Our National…](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/190318.Hollywood_s_Canada)** > > 1975, hardcover edition, McClelland and Stewart, Toront… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/55 "2024-04-13T14:24:31Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Well, it was set in a time when Canadians still considered themselves British, and it has the Yanks as the bad guys. IMHO, it’s close enough. English Canadians at that time, yes; French-Canadians, not so much. But I’m asking if at the time it was made, would it have been considered a patriotic action movie by Canadians? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/56 "2024-04-13T15:38:41Z")
Given that a lot of Americans are probably unaware of the French resistance (at least that’s the impression I’ve gotten from acquaintances) I can’t fully blame them for a little ego-buffing. As long as they don’t try to whitewash the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/57 "2024-04-13T15:41:05Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Given that a lot of Americans are probably unaware of the French resistance Those sorts of Americans aren’t aware of the Vichy French, either. They’re probably barely aware of WW2. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/58 "2024-04-13T15:48:51Z")
Some of the movies mentioned must have a weird definition of patriotic. When I was in the Middle East one of my living arrangements had a form of cable tv and I was able to watch some movies I couldn’t normally have watched. One Russian movie stuck with me. Apparently it was called _Countdown_ for international audiences and _Lichnyy nomer_ in Russia. It was _Die Hard_ style action movie where the hero is up against Muslim (possibly Chetchen I can’t remember) terrorists. Its quality was up to Hollywood standards. The use of genuine Russian military equipment showed they had government cooperation. I do remember laughing because John Amos had a cameo and he was obviously using the same Navy uniform he wore on _West Wing._ I wonder if he got permission to use their wardrobe while he was moonlighting? A couple of other patriotic Russian movies I can remember: _T-34_ was made in 2019. It has a group of POWs breaking out with a seemingly invincible tank and taking on all the Nazis. It contains over the top ultra slo-mo action and lots of Nazi killing. _Panfilov’s 28_ seemed to attempt to be Russia’s _Saving Private Ryan._ I’ve only seen clips but it looked pretty good. I can’t get around the fact that the “true” story it’s based on was clearly proven to be made up Soviet propaganda from WWII. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/59 "2024-04-13T16:11:06Z")
It’s definitely played for laughs, but the [Johnny English](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274166/) franchise does contain some British patriotism, albeit in a very subtle, very indirect, very British way. If I recall correctly; it _has_ been 20 years since I saw it. Also, this movie stretches the definitions of both “patriotic” and “action movie,” but for your consideration: [The Man From Snowy River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_Snowy_River_(1982_film)). It’s Australian to its very core (but for the cast that included American, Canadian and British actors among its Australian ones), being based on the work of a beloved Australian bush poet, and showcasing the stunning natural beauty of Australia. As for action: I mean, there are scenes of peril and danger, and a fantastic sequence involving a horse and its rider riding for their lives. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203/60 "2024-04-13T16:24:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > But I’m asking if at the time it was made, would it have been considered a patriotic action movie by Canadians? It aired in 1984. You tell me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-countries-make-patriotic-action-movies/1000203.md?page=4)