A unique film, and one that everyone should see

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2005)

The Battle Of Algiers documents the Algerian peoples fight for independence from the French in the 50's and 60's. Heavily inspired by the Italian neo-realist movement, Director Pontecorvo used hundreds of non-actors and shot the entire film on location. This all adds to the documentary like photography with which the account is presented, setting it apart from all other war films, imbuing the action with a shocking sense of realism comparable to a news report of a real terrorist demonstration. Despite being a docu-film on the Algerian insurrection against the French, a conflict that has long been resolved, the film still remains extremely significant today, particularly due to the current American occupation of Iraq.
Although I enjoy and appreciate more mainstream war films such as Apocalypse Now and Platoon, The Battle Of Algiers uncovers the pointlessness of conflict and the harsh repercussions of it, like no other war film I have seen. Taking a deliberately impartial stance, the torture based methods of interrogation employed by the French troops are juxtaposed with the violent terrorist attacks of the Algerians. This powerfully illustrates the destruction caused by both sides, and how their tactics, although different in nature, are united in their ugliness and betrayal of humanitarian values, causing nothing but death and suffering. In this respect, the film documents like no other the sad foolishness of trying to solve conflicts with violence, causing maximum loss on both sides, perpetuating conflict rather than preventing it. The Battle Of Algiers is also instrumental in emphasising how the actions of an extremist group using violent methods, can result in a racial hatred of an entire ethnic minority. This occurrence resonates powerfully across western civilisation in a supposedly enlightened 21st century, where hundreds of innocent civilians are labelled as potential terrorists because of a select few who choose to cause destruction.