The Battle of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers_360P

source: The Battle of Algiers

La battaglia di Algeri

The Battle of Algiers is a war film based upon occurrences in the eight-year Algerian War against French colonial rule in North Africa. There were many scenes that were a little hard to watch because of all the people that were killed in the bombings while living their everyday lives. It was interesting to see how many men and women join together to seek revenge against another group. The director cleverly uses imagery to make the viewers see the insight of a terrorist mind. The attacks and battles are insane among one another, accusations towards the innocent. It was an interesting film to watch if you enjoy battle and war films. I personally don't do well in sitting still in these type of films but I did understand what the director portrays. I only recommend this film if you enjoy learning about history and wars.

We all go to the movies because we love to be entertained and it's hard to argue that it's the greatest form of entertainment but when serious viewers talk about film in terms of being important you would have to expect this title to be instantly brought up. This film covers the years from 1954 to 1962 in Algeria when the Arab section of Algiers started an uprising to fight the French and gain their own independence. Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) is a petty thief and hustler and when he gets out of jail he teams up with El-hadi Jaffar (Saadi Yacef) and together they form the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) in which they start terrorist attacks. *****SPOILER ALERT***** French authorities bring in Col. Mathieu (Jean Martin) to head the anti-terrorist unit and he uses methods of torture to slowly eliminate the insurrectionists who hide behind walls in apartments in the Casbah. Eventually Col. Mathieu kills Ali and it seems that everything will go back to what they were but two years later the Arabs take to the streets in huge numbers which causes the U.N. to take notice and in 1962 Algeria finally gained it's independence. This was made by Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo who shot this in the actual locations in Algeria and used mainly non-actors in his cast (Martin is the only professional) and the story is based on a book by Yacef who not only is a survivor of these true events but is cast in an important role. Pontecorvo has created a film that seems so real that he had to have a disclaimer put into the credits stating that no newsreel or documentary footage was used which is incredible because there are so many scenes in which it appears that real events were caught on film. The script does it's best to show both the positive and the negative of both sides of the French and the FLN but it does seem that Pontecorvo leans towards the side of the Arabs. This all takes place in a time when most American viewers were not aware of what terrorism was about and in 1965 it was probably easy to just point at the French and think they should just get out but now in our day and age audiences are a little more sophisticated to the world and it's politics. There are scenes that take place that we will probably never see done again because of the lack of safety especially the shots of the bombs exploding and the (so-called) actors scrambling for their lives. Another point in the film shows a French soldier bursting into an apartment to search it and accidentally stepping on a crying baby! There is no doubt that this is one of the most important films ever made not just because of the subject matter but in the skill that Pontecorvo applies to achieve his vision. In 1965 this may not have been perceived as a truly great film but now 40 years later it's looked at as one of the most important films ever made and one that is studied by military personnel and those in the Pentagon.

..who had lived through the real battle. Director Pontecorvo and cinematographer Marcello Gatti are true geniuses who amazingly filmed the movie in black and white and experimented with various techniques to give the film the look of newsreel and documentary film and that too making it an engrossing n enlightening experience. Although the rebels lost the Battle of Algiers, they won the Algerian War n their freedom from the French colonial regime. This movie showed the impact of colonialism on daily lives. The guy who played Ali is noteworthy, one of the rebel female has a sharp contour cheeks and the character lil Omar will always be remembered. The torture of the rebel prisoners is the most poignant relevance to the recent ongoings worldwide. The ironical aspect is that of the Colonel, who himself suffered torture by the Nazis in a concentration camp, now torturing common civilians to obtain information.

The subject matter is complex because of the two sides/people wanting to control Algiers. The people that want it back so that they may practice their religious and cultural beliefs start using war and terrorizing tactics to break free. Although it does a great job in the storytelling aspect to see both sides, I cannot separate the blowing up of innocent people in the town square scenes. I know the other side to it was the bombing of the village the Muslims were at and killing innocent victims there, but it was unnerving and disturbing seeing the underhandedness of playing the system in order to kill hundreds of people in the town cafés. Personally I thought the the scenes were shot perfectly in the use of close-ups and camera angles. The subject matter is not pleasant though.

As Algerian, I watched this movie 2 times a year for 20 years, this movie is a part of my story. It helped me to put imagines and sounds to stories I heard from my teachers, cousins, as my grand-parents and my parents still can't talk about that horrible war. By now, as I'm growing old, I understand that this movie is not the 'Truth', it was 'war', and in a war even good people can do horrible things. And I know what I'm talking about as I was there, in Algeria, during the 'Dark Decennial', while we were fighting against our own people whom turned terrorists in the name of Islam. So for those who will watch this film, please just remember not to judge any of the parties : Algerian /or/ French. It was a war and no war is nice, people die, and those who survive will suffer. Films/art are a form of exorcism for that pain we keep silently inside. I like this movie, because I saw tears in the beautiful green eyes of my grand mother every time she watched it and it always gave her a good opportunity to cry for my grand father that she lost during the war. I saw my father crying for his father that he never knew, and saw him also being closer to his mom because. For me, this movie will always be a 'Good movie to watch in Family'

In 1954, the National Liberation Front of Algiers shots many French policemen beginning a movement for the independence of their country; in return, the Chief of Police plants a bomb in the Arab quarter, killing many dwellers. The NLF sends three women with bombs to two bars and the Air France office in the European quarter, killing many people. The French government sends the military forces under the command of the abusive Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin) that does not respect the human rights and uses torture to destroy the NLF command. In 1962, the Algerians finally achieve their aimed independence. "La Battaglia di Algeri" is a powerful and impressive masterpiece about the fight that happened in Algiers in the period between 1954 and 1962 between the Algerian resistance and the French military forces. A couple of months ago I saw "Mon Colonel", another magnificent movie about this dark period of the mankind history. In both movies, we see no difference between the methods used by French in Algerian, or the Nazis in World War II, or the South American's dictatorships in the 60's, 70's and 80's, or by the American in Iraq, of the Chinese in Tibet. "Liberty, Fraternity, Equality for us, but torture and abuse of the human rights for the others" should be the correct sentence applicable to most nations. Therefore the writing of Machiavelli in "The Prince" about the behavior of the "princes" along history could be updated to the disrespect of human rights by powerful nations against weakest ones in the name of their best interests. This movie is impressive because it seems to be a documentary, with grainy cinematography and non-professional actors, in a perfect contemporary Neorealism. I am not familiar with the work of director Gillo Pontecorvo, but I really believe that this movie is his masterpiece. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): "A Batalha de Argel" ("The Battle of Algiers")

Capturing a historic incident/moment with extraordinary accuracy makes a film truly beautiful, painful, and masterful. With the tradition of Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave - i.e. shooting in location and casting nonprofessional actors, The Battle of Algiers harshly seals the ugly realities of both French Legion and Algerian Guerillas - i.e. indiscriminate bombs, tortures, and scapegoats. Ennio Morricone composed one of his early successful scores.