The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Brother, what a brutal film.  The Battle of Algiers is a French production, which focuses on a situation I'm sure most Americans are wholly unfamiliar with: The French struggle to hold onto over 100 years of occupation in the African nation of Algeria, and the rebels who brought about the change.

What struck me most about this film was its style.  Especially considering the time in which it was conceived.  You're looking at a solely black-and-white film, shot in what can only be described as a near-documentary style.  As such you're shown the fight, if you want to call it that, from all points.  Secondly, I was simply amazed at the total *lack* of bias toward either side, given that the events portrayed were only a few years old.  It should also be noted that this film was actually banned outright in France, and I can't say I'm surprised.  Disappointed but not surprised.

The Algerian resistance, aka the FLN, is shown to take control of Algiers in what we'd consider to be terrorist style, yet you're somehow able to identify with them and even live with their decision to bomb four market areas, including a bar and nightclub.

Then there's the French.  A band of paratroopers led by Col. Mathieu comes in to restore order, and you're sure they're just going to kick ass.  Yet they manage to come across no better than the "freedom fighters" in their tactics and opinions.

Bluntly, this shows the brutality and inhumanity which exists on both sides of *any* conflict, and does it in such a way that when its over, you're not left cheering for either side.

Is there a lot of typical war-movie shootemup style action? No, but that's not the point.  I still found myself glued to this movie, wondering which choices both sides would make, and who it would hurt.

Something that also is made clear by this film, from 1965, is how much we have *not* learned, especially in light of other recent "occupations" (for lack of a better word) of middle-eastern nations.  Really you could probably take the premise of this film and re-write it for modern Baghdad, and it would be just as relevant.

The entire film is in French and Arabic, so you'll be reading a *lot* of subtitles.  Unavoidable, and really it doesn't detract anything from the impact of it.  The acting all around was really quite good for (I think) a group of unknowns, and there isn't much of a soundtrack to speak of, which only helps the documentary feel of the thing.

The Battle of Algiers really surprised me.  I found it engrossing and painful, and was shown a bit of world history that we US-ians really dont' know much about.

Technorati Tags: the battle of algiers, 1966, algeria, france, independence, revolution

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The Battle of Algiers (The Criterion Collection) List Price: $49.95 Sale Price: $27.36 You save: $22.59 (45%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Description

One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria’s struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés. The French win the battle, but ultimately lose the war as the Algerian people demonstrate that they will no longer be suppressed. The Criterion Collection is proud present Gillo Pontecorvo’s tour de force—a film with astonishing relevance today.

Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. Decades later, the advent of the "war against terror" has only intensified the film's relevance. Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to F.L.N. (the Algerian Liberation Front). However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film. Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an evenhandedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the F.L.N.'s bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as a determined, shrewd, and, in his own way, honorable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations, and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a handful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Brand: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Criterion
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Brahim Hadjadj
• Jean Martin
• Yacef Saadi
• Samia Kerbash
• Ugo Paletti

Reviews

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 5:40 am and is filed under 1960s, Other War Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.