Battle of Algiers, 1967

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2007)

The Battle of Algiers is a 1967 black-and-white film by Gillo Pontecorvo based on events during the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence against French rule. Economic and neighborhood segregation between Algerians and French, it made Algerians feel foreign and inferior in their own land. They had all the rights to fight because theirs was a war for independence. French on the other hand, were fighting for their dominance over Algiers. I personally was very surprised by the Algiers women's role in this movie especially during the time they went to place the bombs in the most French frequented public areas. I like those scenes for another very important reason as well. After seeing an Algerian women sacrifice her hair, dressed up like modern French lady and looking at a little boy eyes eating ice-cream and knowing that she will kill that child after a few minutes, it all left me as a viewer without any good or bad opinion about Algerians. Furthermore, that's what this movie is all about; to not point who are the good and the bad characters in this movie, but to show the reality of this war. The involvement of children in the war was very significant and helpful element of the war as well because it is harder to punish or to catch a little child, as we saw in this movie. They were moving through the French military checkpoint transporting weapons then after will be used to kill the French soldiers. Also, the French tortures especially in the prison to make Algerians talk about the FLN members, were a very disturbing scenes of this movie.