La Battaglia di Algeri

The story is of a country being born, the actors are its people and the set is the city of Algiers itself. A totally unbiased rendering of the Algerian war for independence, it ranks as one of the most interesting movies I have seen. The film tracks the initial armed rebellion against the French colonizers in the city of Algiers. (1956-57). The story is set before the mass uprisings of 1961-63 which pushed the French out. But given the overtly bloody nature of the initial struggle, there are eerie parallels between what is depicted here and what undoubtedly happens throughout the world in places like Iraq, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, former Punjab etc. Some of the dialogues could be used to understand the psyche of both "occupier" and "occupied" almost anywhere in the world. Therein lies the sign of a good script.

"Give me your bombers and you can have our baskets" --Rebel leader Ben M'Hidi answering a French reporter's question stating the cowardice of Algerian women placing bombs in baskets.

"The real quesion is should we remain in Algeria? If you answer "yes," then you must accept all the necessary consequences. " --French Col. Mathieu when asked whether the French paratroopers torture.

The entire movie has a grainy documentary style feel to it. I quite didn't understand the disclaimer at the beginning "None of the shots in the movie are from newsreels" till i saw the whole movie. It is hard to believe that this is a work of fiction based on true events. It is interesting that all shots are on location and quite a few roles are played by non-professionals.



The movie doesn't romanticize the armed rebels. It shows them as what they are, killers who believe that they are killing for a reason. There are scenes in the movie where you almost side with them, but the next second they are planting a bomb in a cafe` and you cringe.



The French paratroopers are shown as extremely effective and as torturers. But the movie's brilliance lies in not villainizing individuals among the French. It shifts the blame squarely to the disconnect between political will and military reality. Military occupations by their nature are messy because the overarching theme is to kill before you get killed. Col.Mathieu rues the fact that he gets only 24 hours to make a rebel speak as the Algerians have a practice of changing plans within 24 hours if someone in the info chain is caught. So his character is adamant that once you send your men to fight, don't expect them to follow your civilian niceties. It's of no use for left-wing newsmen to write criticisms of particular operations after the men have been sent to war.

It is obvious that many people see a parallel between this movie and what is happening in Iraq today. The desire of the American people to change Iraq for the better juxtaposed with the desire to not have torture. This movie and Col.Mathieu argue that the only way to end torture or the necessity of torture is to not be there in the first place.