The Battle Of Algiers - Gillo Pontecorvo
Unedited Thoughts - This is part of my unedited thoughts series.
Some old films don’t date well because they try to show too much and we know it is fake. This is not one of those. This film only shows us what it can make real and it is terrifying.
This film starts at the end. We see them about to capture the last leader of the insurgency. Then we flashback and are told the story of Ali’s life and how he ended up as one of the key leaders of the insurgency against French rule in Algiers.
We are inculcated with him. We see the brutality of the French and are onside. This is really hard to do because they are terrorists. What is key here is that as the insurgents do something it has been preceded by something much worse by the French.
The situation and story is nuanced and really well told. Not everyone on either side agrees with what is going on. The head of the French police predicts the outcome of the blockades and tries to have them stopped. This in turn leads to more killings and then the French retaliate with bombings.
It continues tit-for-tat until the French army arrives. Jean Martin is a standout as Col. Mathieu. He warns about what will need to be done to put an end to the situation. He is given the green light and the war amps up.
Then the torture of civilians begins so that all the leaders end up getting caught. Then we flash back to where the film started and our lead gets blown up.
Atrocities are committed on both sides and the French push the Algerians to the edge so they have no choice. All of this has echo’s of The Siege for me. But in truth The Siege echo’s this film.
I really liked this film. All the characters are real and believable. There are no heroes in war only monsters. These monsters all know they are monsters. The truth of these positions to themselves and us is fantastic. The fact that neither the French nor the Algerian leaders want to take the actions they are taking but the politicians have forced them into these untenable positions is brilliant.
