the girl and the general have a special place in my heart i saw this late one night when i be about 10 year old when cable tv be brand new and they be desperate for program . lucky for me . this be my first real exposure to the wonderful explosion of realism in italian cinema from the 60 . the movie do a wonderful job of depict war a something that happen during people life and not vice versa . rather than the define element of the time and it another element in of life and where people fear and and hope and and struggle . wonderfully acted and good cinematography ( as long a you remember that this be realism ) and and decent editing . full of humor and pathos .