Re: Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club
#93 -
The Battle of Algiers (1966) -
As a product of French colonialism, whose country gained it's independence in the same time frame covered in this movie (albeit peacefully), ya got to understand that any movie which shows an indigenous population laying the smack down on the French is gonna get a thumbs up from me. This one is personal.
While France let most of their colonies go in 1960, they held onto Algeria, as it's status was markedly different from the rest of their overseas possessions by design: The Algerian colony was directly across the Mediterranean Sea and was intended to be an extension of the south of France, and an integral part of the country. At the time events depicted in the film, it had been occupied for about 130 years and its northernmost regions were administratively integrated into mainland France. The colony was home to a couple of generations of locally born settlers - some 1 million "pieds noirs" as they were called.
The Battle of Algiers chronicles the final phases of the FLN-engineered underground resistance in Algiers and ensuing massive uprising which resulted in the independence of Algeria. FLN stands for Front de Liberation National.
Right off the bat, the most striking aspect of the film is how contemporary it fells, and this is a strictly technical comment -- we will get into the themes in a second. The camera work and flawless editing could have been the result of a present day production. It's raw, gritty and real, but without the perhaps overused handheld camera jitters which have become the hallmark of the recent indie productions. The massive insurrections toward the end of the movie seem so real it's hard to believe they are not documentary footage. Although no such thing is present on the Criterion copy I borrowed from the library, I read elsewhere that prints of this movie used to carry a disclaimer stating that (hear this) none of the footage is real. That should tell you something.
The movie is mostly a succession of time-stamped scenes depicting the escalation of operations on both sides of the conflict. We spend some time with both the French and FLN leadership and operatives, but the film never really forgets that this war is greater than any one character or group thereof (or perhaps I never did?). There are no real characters per se, as far as development or depth goes. These people are what they are and do what they do, just vehicles for actions that must be performed on both sides. In that regard, I am reminded of the recent
Black Hawk Down.
George complained earlier in this thread about the relative lack of suspense in the cafe bombing scenes compared to something Hitchcock might have staged. I strongly disagree, as I was at the edge of my seat during every one of those scenes, wondering whether the women would succeed in their mission.
The frequent narration, in addition to the occasional strategic briefing by both parties, is the glue which lends cohesiveness to a chronicle which would otherwise lack a narrative hook due to the film's deliberate distance. It consists of readings of clandestine FLN leaflets, French radio newscasts, and standard omniscient commentary, all delivered by the same newsreel style (but not as propagandist) voice. Here again, with rare exceptions such as the revolutionary leader Ali La Pointe's introduction, the narration is less concerned with the details of the war, and more with ideological pronouncements (by proxy of the leaflets) and the big picture, such as the UN resolution concerning the "Algerian question". The minutiae of the struggle during such scenes are conveyed visually, such as the hand-to-hand travel of secret handwritten notes among the insurgency.
As for the themes, well, there is enough in
The Battle of Algiers to spin the head of anyone with the slightest interest in current events. The parallels are so striking as to be unreal. The same difficult questions asked in the movie are being put on the table today, sometimes
word for word (the press conference), and the same responses are heard as well, confirming that history is just one depressing cycle powered by the amnesia (or cluelesness) of our misguided leaders.
What can I say, this one hit all the right chords, and then some more. The fantastic direction and historical context blend together to produce one of the most visceral cinematic experiences I have ever had.
The Battle of Algiers is an outstanding piece of filmmaking, a masterpiece.
--
H
. pretty surprising to see that such a recent director is better represented on this list than a Wilder (4), Bergman (5), Spielberg (3!!!) and countless others. I've not seen a single movie from this fellow, I am intrigued. The local Hollywood Video has The Wind Will Carry Us, I shall check that out that way rather than waiting for netflix.
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) but on the whole, this thing is hugely rewarding. The last movie I reviewed was worth sitting through every painful experience on this list to get to.
That's one I really enjoy. Oh well.
