Loved it!

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2010)

I was actually blown away by this movie. It seemed, to me, to be so far ahead of its time. The whole time watching I felt as though I was watching a contemporary movie, which was filmed in black and white. Aside from the attire of the French characters, and a few scattered scenes, it seemed very contemporary. In many ways, it IS very contemporary. The battle between the Algerians and the colonizing French is a story, which has been played out throughout history, time and time again.
The director of this film was purposefully chosen from neither a French or Algerian background, which turned out to be an Italian director. I don't think that the directing could have been done any better. As a testament to the quality, many contemporary directors cite this feature as a major inspiration. The major reason for the choice in director is an attempt to take neither side of the story. Although I found the film to lie a bit more on the side of the Algerians (which can be taken simply as the fact that a viewer tends to side with those who are fighting for freedom), it is rather fair to say the director did a very good job at showing the angel and devil in both sides. WATCH THIS FILM.