Shades of Gray

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2010)

This film was incredibly haunting in terms of just how unbiased both factions were portrayed and in the documentary style it was shot in. On one side you have the Algerians who are comparable to modern day terrorists with their bombing tactics and on the other, the French regime who themselves aren't completely opposed to resorting to in-discriminant acts of violence against the Algerian civilians. What I appreciated about this movie was the fact that it was directed in a way that there was no definitive "good" or "bad" side, that there are various shades of gray and that both sides were merely following the path that they felt was right. By being directed this way, it provides a more human approach to the situation because it symbolizes the fact that there are two sides to each story and that we as the audience are free to pick and choose which side was doing the right thing, if any side was justified at all. Should we as the audience support the Algerians, the oppressed citizens who were subjected to racial profiling that disturbingly mirrors current issues in Arizona and their immigration laws? Or should we side with the French regime who were only doing what their duties demanded of them and in response to the radical Algerians who bombed shops and, in one instance in the film, drove around rampaging and shooting anything that moved?
The choice is yours to make.