Majority vs. Minority.

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2009)

Paul Greengrass once stated that if he could chose one film that he had directed, he'd chosen 'The Battle of Algiers' (1966), a raw and riveting war-drama by Italian born Gillo Pontecorvo. And you can see Greengrass' influence all the way through; shot like the real deal with a political storyline and an unknown cast, his 'United 93' draws several similarities. Director Pontecorvo was under the influence of Italian masterpiece 'Rome, Open City' while shooting what would become his own grand work; made to feel like a documentary, the film plots around the Algerian revolutionists wanting independence from French government. Using the zoom effect, Pontecorvo aims in on the details of humanity, on the shackled humanity that faces chaos. Adding on emotionally laden music by Pontecorvo himself and master film composer Ennio Morricone, the film certainly finds a beating heart amongst all the smoky ruins and bloody torture. Pontecorvo was by some back in the 60ties declared a "pro-Marxist" as he doesn't always steer his motivations objectively, but finely balances the line between propaganda and pure observation. Systematically told in its cinematic narrative and with its journalistic narrator, the film still has a ruthless undertone much because of the importance of the story and the following shackles of war. I warmly recommend this brilliant war-film of 1966 whose influence can be seen in many films - most recently in Steven Soderbergh's 'Che'.