Title: Battle of Algiers
Rating: 5 Stars
Continuing my way through the BFI list of best films, this one I admittedly might be overrating. However, I do have a reason. The last several films from the list that I’ve watched have been kind of a struggle. I appreciate the artistry of the films and the context in which they were made, but they’ve been kind of a slog to actually, you know, watch. Whether it’s a tale of Indian poverty (Pather Panchali) or a weird sci-fi Soviet film (Stalker) or a Soviet non-linear semi-autobiography (Mirror), watching these films has seemed much more like work than play.
So, watching Battle of Algiers was a breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong. The subject matter is grim with scenes of torture and terrorism. However, the plot is linear and clear, the motives of the characters are well understood, and clocking in at around two hours (at least the version that I watched) all make it a somewhat conventionally enjoyable cinematic experience.
I do say somewhat conventional. It is an innovative film. It’s about Algeria’s struggle for independence. This struggle unfolds over multiple years. You see the struggle from multiple viewpoints. There are the leaders of the revolution. There are foot soldiers like the three women that separately must maneuver through military checkpoints to plant bombs in locations like cafes. There is the French military that has been called in to restore order, at virtually any cost, to what the French see as their colony.
It’s an Italian film made in the style known as neo-realism. Even though it’s a drama, it really feels that you’re watching a documentary. Much of the photography takes place in the streets. Watching it, I see no evidence of sound stages being used or anything like that. The cinematographer filmed in a style that made it seem like a news reel. Apparently when first screened in the US, the film was prefaced with a short message stating that no news reel footage was used.
Even more than that, the director relied almost exclusively upon non-actors. The only non-actor played the head of the French military assigned the task of putting down the rebellion. Other than that, apparently the director just kind of wandered around and picked people who had the look or affect that he was looking for. Not only were some of these non-actors in Algeria during the rebellion but some of them were actual participants.
The story told is an archetype of how revolutions like this unfold. It starts with a small rebel organization (known as the FLN) that is not getting traction. To gain attention, the FLN plan some splashy actions. In this case, they assassinate some policemen and steal their weapons for further acts. This sparks an immediately counterreaction from the police. Several police officials sneak into the rebel stronghold, the Casbah, and plant a bomb, resulting in the deaths of many civilians. Instead of teaching the FLN a painful lesson, this only inspires them to further acts of violence as well as nonviolent protests like general strikes to demonstrate both the size of the resistance and how much the French need the local Algerians for their society to function.
Eventually, it escalates to where the Casbah is essentially walled off from the rest of Algiers. Since the French need local Algerians, Algerians are still allowed to work outside of the Casbah. Knowing French prejudices, local Algerian women assume the looks and dress of sophisticated women to successfully pass through check points and to plant bombs. The filmmakers not only show the bravery of the women as they cross a security checkpoint with a ticking timebomb, but also show the consequences of their actions. One of the bombs is at a milk bar, populated by young people drinking non-alcoholic beverages and joyfully dancing to music. The people at the bar have nothing to do with the oppressive military or police but are collateral damage to a war that they probably don’t even understand.
Eventually, the French get tough and bring in their military to install law and order. The military understands that the FLN is organized in a typical highly independent set of cells. Putting aside legal niceties, the military is allowed to employ a strong hand in breaking up the cells. Beatings, water torture, and being handcuffed and hung are all explicitly shown here. Eventually, the efforts bear fruit. They begin to work their way, cell by cell, slowly working their way up the hierarchy. Eventually, they reach the top cell and capture / kill the leaders. At that point, the military consider the FLN conquered and their job completed.
Of course, it’s not that easy. Exercising such a violent crackdown on revolutionaries inevitably has the result of creating a new generation of revolutionaries. Eventually, Algeria does gain its independence.
History tells us that this is the path of revolution. Whether it’s the US fighting the Viet Cong or the Israelis fighting Palestinians during the Intifada, the script is the same. A relatively small number of committed revolutionaries can tie up a large, seemingly unconquerable military through the use of asymmetric warfare.
Considering the later US experience in Afghanistan or what Israel is currently inflicting upon Gaza, these lessons seem very difficult for state power to learn.
dorkenstein 