An Uncommonly Powerful Film

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2008)

There are few films with the power of The Battle Of Algiers. It is a film based on real events that gives you, the audience, the feel of those events actually unfolding before your eyes, which is a rarity to say the least. What is even rarer is what makes this film so good: it is perhaps the most successful documentary approach recreation of actual events ever produced.
One of the biggest keys to the documentary approach of the film is the fact that the actors do not seem to be acting. Often it is the very fact that actors do seems to be acting that can kill the reality of a film like this one yet this represents one of the successful attempts at using not just actors but non-actors to create a seamless whole. In fact one of the best decisions made by Gillo Pontecorvo was to cast Saadi Yacef who was directly involved in the real events to effectively play himself. The advantage of this is that it adds an even greater degree of verisimilitude to the film and its approach.
The documentary approach is in fact the very key to the success of The Battle Of Algiers. The cinematography wobbles, zooms and frames in the way that a documentary film would if filming these events as they were taking place and gives the film the visual reference of a documentary. The result of this is the feeling in the midst of riots, shooting, bombings, meetings, torturing etc. In short the film gives the feeling of being in the midst of a modern revolution from both sides of it.
In fact it is the very fact that The Battle Of Algiers covers both sides that makes the film stand-out. It is true that the filmmakers have an obvious bias for the FLN, yet one must look deeper into the film. Despite that bias the film pulls no punches on the morals of terrorism. The very fact that is shows shooting and bombings up close and personal and the aftermaths as well in perhaps the single best example of this. Neither side be it the FLN with their terrorist attacks of the French with their paratroopers using torture is portrayed as the definite good guys or bad guys to put it in more conventional, literal terms. The film proves that one point of view is as valid as the other, something rather unique to this film. The bias is for the FLN and the journey of Ali La Pointe from average Algerian to revolutionary yet the fact is that the film shows both sides. The point of this: nobody is right yet nobodies wrong and both sides of any conflict must understand this. That fact alone makes the film as relevant today as it was forty plus years ago.
Another strong element of the film is its rather sparse score. The score was a collaboration between films core master Ennio Morricone and Pontecorvo and it is proof of the old saying less is more. The score provided emotional clout to an all ready emotionally charged film from the almost thunderous paratrooper theme to the heartbreaking piece used in the aftermath of both the French and FLN bombings. In fact that latter piece alone makes clear the intent of those scenes: human suffering in universal no matter which side of a conflict you are on. It is a unique score for a unique film.
The Battle Of Algiers is a unique film in many ways. From the verisimilitude of its cast to its documentary approach and unique view of modern revolutions and terrorism, few films can match the sheer power and realism of this film. It is this uncommon aspect that makes the film unique even some four decades after it was made. For anyone seeking a unique insight into modern terrorism or seeking a fine example of how a film can bring history to life after the event I recommend The Battle Of Algiers without hesitation. Watch it, learn from it and be all the better for it.