The Battle of Algiers

Gillo Prontecorvo’s 1966 black and white film The Battle of Algiers, is based on the events that took place during the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence against France rule. The film showed several flashbacks, presented as the memories of the character Ali, a leading member of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN). Ali was a thief who joined the secretive organization in order to help rid the Casbah of corruption associated with the colonial government. The film showed the rebels' struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government, what soon becomes a nationwide revolt. After the flashback, Ali and the last of the FLN leaders are killed, but people stilled continued to riot, leading to the declaration of Algerian independence in 1962.

I think the purpose of this film was to show what people are capable of during war and how one must be alert at all times. The film showed the guerrilla tactics both sides used during the war. The Algerians plotted several clever terrorist attacks against the police, which were not only done by men, but by women and children as well. The French torture scenes against the Algerians were pretty extreme.

I thought the film was interesting. I think the film might have been better if the subtitles were clearer. Not being able to see the sub titles takes away from the film a bit. The film reminded me of the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, because the French could’ve stopped some of the attacks, had they gone by that saying. When the people were being searched at the French checkpoints, the French didn’t check everyone. If the person appeared to have that western style, the cops would let them pass without searching them. This is where the French made some of their fatal mistakes. I think the scene with the woman transforming themselves into Western style fashion to transport the bombs through the checkpoints to their targets was brilliant. I also liked the scenes when the Algerian people would strike without warning and then blend back into a crowd of people. Scenes such as those made the film appealing.