"Buffalo Soldiers" is a very frustrating film. It's about a seldom talked about group of black cavalry soldiers who helped tame and protect the west during the late 19th century and it's nice to see them get their due. Unfortunately, late in the film, the writers are very fast and loose with history and give us an ending that is just wrong and never happened.
The story shows the men and how they often were mistreated and mischaracterized by the white officers who sometimes hated them for their skin color. Not all the white officers in the film seemed to feel this way...but the General does and this makes it tough for these brave men. And, as they try to find and locate a renegade group of the Mescalero Apache tribe, he often gives them lousy assingments and seemed to look for reasons to blame their failure on their skin. And the ending....well, this simply never happened which is a problem since the story is set during the so-called 'Victorio's Wars'...and the Victorio in the film and his real life and fate are at complete odds with each other. Worth seeing but seriously flawed.
The story shows the men and how they often were mistreated and mischaracterized by the white officers who sometimes hated them for their skin color. Not all the white officers in the film seemed to feel this way...but the General does and this makes it tough for these brave men. And, as they try to find and locate a renegade group of the Mescalero Apache tribe, he often gives them lousy assingments and seemed to look for reasons to blame their failure on their skin. And the ending....well, this simply never happened which is a problem since the story is set during the so-called 'Victorio's Wars'...and the Victorio in the film and his real life and fate are at complete odds with each other. Worth seeing but seriously flawed.