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The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Director:
Cast:
Bra;him Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi
Summary:
In the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government. (IMDb)
Synopsis:
A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian’s use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it. (IMDb)
Review
This a well-balanced portrayal of a difficult period in French and Algerian history, It shows the battle of independence and struggles against the French from both sides without over bias to either side. The film has a real feel, and I was surprised to read that no documentary footage was used because there are sequences that seem so real, particular the bombing by the woman disguised as French.
The film propagates thoughts in the reviewer because the film is equally sympathetic to both to the French colonial forces and the partisans fighting against them. We see the partisans has real people with genuine wishes against what see as oppression from the French – we do see example of this prosession. But the French soldiers are shown as heroic and just doing their job not over zealous.
Overall over a film to judge all other that hope to dramatise or remake the past.