THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements

Rated:

There are some parts of history that are quite well known.World War I and World War II have entered the conscious of people worldwide. In both of these wars the country of France was attacked by Germany and its allies had to rush in to the "rescue" twice. Despite France's weak military, they had set up colonies in Africa and Southeast Asia, much like their British neighbors. Algiers, what is now present-day Algeria, was once a colony of France for 130 years until their independence in 1962. This film depicts one of the little known bits of world history between native Algerians and French colonists.

The native citizens of Algiers were always at odds with their French occupiers. They wanted freedom from colonization from a foreign power and to govern on their own. A young man, Ali La Pointe, spent his whole life trying to rise against the French, even as a 12 year old schoolboy. He had a history of misbehaving and starting riots in reform school. Ali also had a police record and had spent several months in prison for his activities against French occupation. The year is 1954 and Ali is 24 years old. He joins a terrorist organization called the F.L.N (in English it means "national liberation") set on ridding Algiers of European power by using violence. This organization has employed the help of men, women, and children by giving them guns to shoot French police officers and soldiers in the area. The violence against French authorities keeps rising and the police chief in charge can do absolutely nothing. 

Even with established checkpoints to pat down Arab inhabitants, men still get through by smuggling pistols in their pockets and shooting police themselves or giving the guns to youngsters for them to use. Since women couldn't be touched, the F.L.N volunteers three or four women to hide time bombs in purses to blow up restaurants, cafes, and airports. Unfortunately, innocent French and Arab citizens are the victims of these heinous acts of terrorism. The French authorities in Algiers finally call in military troops to secure the area, led by World War II veteran Colonel Mathieu. He soon learns about Ali La Pointe, the F.L.N., and their plans to gain independence through violent terror. Soon, the troops move in and start to interrogate Arabs (in the neighborhood of Ali La Pointe and his organization) on the whereabouts of the F.L.N, all while torturing them by electrocution, burning, and hanging. The French neighbors of these Arabs make matters worse by taunting them and calling them murderers. One thing to note is that only a small minority of the native Arabs resort to terrorism, something that Col. Mathieu emphasizes.  he French army now starts to resort to terrorism itself by blowing up the homes of alleged F.L.N members after trying to be diplomatic and cordial with suspected terrorists.

This film doesn't have any sexual content, and the only nudity is the bare backside of a toddler. The violence is standard PG-13 fare. There are shootouts between the French army and the F.L.N.  Bombs are placed into cafes, restaurants, and other public places by female terrorists which result in several deaths of innocent Arabs and French citizens. During a negotiation with F.L.N members, a member of the French army is killed by a time bomb hidden in a basket. Men, women, and children shoot at French policemen at point blank range. There are scenes of people being tortured and interrogated. There are also shots of bloodied corpses from bombing scenes. Profanity is moderate. Ali La Pointe calls a woman a b****, the word bast*** is used, and a couple of d***s here and there. Needless to say, this is not a film for children. 

The Battle of Algiers was made in the mid 1960s by a Marxist film director Gillo Pontecorvo, known for his 1969 film Quemada! Naturally, the Algerian terrorists are shown in a positive light, fighting for freedom and independence while French troops are depicted as the bad guys. No doubt that the French did occupy Algeria for 130 years, but once they won independence in 1962, their self-rule was no different than the French occupation (it was actually worse than their French predecessors), which brought them back to where they started. Some individuals, including college professors, use this film as a parallel to the war in Iraq where American troops are "occupying" Iraqi peoples. This is far from the truth. While American troops have liberated Iraqis from a horrible dictator, it cannot be compared to French imperialism in the mid 1950s. It would be logical to compare the Algerians' plight with the imperialism of the British Empire, who colonized more land than both France and the U.S. combined (the USA's "colonies" consist of Guam, the Virgin Islands, and at one time, the Philippines).

I liked this film up until halfway, when it started to drag on and on. The violence seems to be rather pointless and exaggerated. I believe that both the French and the Algerian terrorists were wrong in their way of handling the situation and it should've been handled by diplomatic means, but then again, each situation is different. There aren't any Christian themes and the only faith represented is Muslim (women are seen wearing burqa-like clothing that covers everything but their eyes). I would not recommend this film unless you're a hard-core history buff. 

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