The Battle of Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers has divided critical opinion. The film which depicts the Algerian struggle for independence against French colonial power, was awarded the Lion d'Or at the 1966 Venice Film Festival. Yet, despite this acclaim, the inherently controversial film was banned in France until 1971 due to its graphic portrayal of torture and repression during the Algerian war. The politically engaged director had however sought to make The Battle of Algiers within a 'dictatorship

So unusual is Fanon’s interpretation of colonialism making “both the black, slave to his inferiority, and the white man, slave to his superiority” that it’s presence in both Heart of Darkness and The Battle of Algiers is overwhelming. Unsurprisingly, American history books tend to glorify imperialism on the grounds of generating increased wealth for the mother land while also dragging the colony out of so-called barbarism and into the modern world. But does this make America any less deplorable

French Algeria is now called Algeria and won its independence from its colonial power, France. The two political communities in French Algeria were the French citizens and the Algerian people. The Algerian people were under French rule for over one hundred years from 1830 to 1962 when they were given their independence and recognized by France. “The events of November 1, 1954, marked the birth of the National Liberation Front (FLN)” (Cherian). The Muslim population is the part of the population that

War can teach many lessons, like how a country’s history can lead to the conflicts of today, or how they are started by a handful of people but affects millions. These stories are told in a myriad of ways. “The Cranes Are Flying,” and “The Battle for Algiers,” depict two historical wars. One takes place in Russia in the time of the Second World War and the other is in Algeria during their fight for independence from the French. The films tell

unoffended, but rather to embrace diversity of thought and creativity to portray untainted ideas. Filmmaking—being a form of art—follows the same guidelines and thus shapes society through its objectionable and often jarring subject matter. The Battle of Algiers (a reenactment of Algeria’s fight for independence from France from 1954 to 1957) was a politically motivated piece that was banned in France upon its debut. The lifelike images of war, rebellion, and torture became a controversial

film. Music, timing, camera features, setting and much more all influence the viewer’s outlook. The Battle of Algiers and Paradise Now and then both put their perspective on the struggle between two different groups and fighting techniques within the two sides. Each film takes a different approach to connect the viewer to the film. With only being exposed to twenty-six minutes of The Battle of Algiers, it was difficult to get on a personal basis with the characters. Understanding who the characters

men began to respect the women and allowed them more freedom than they had ever had before. This film is slightly different than the other in that it gives insight to other powers that groups hold inside the big one. In the film The Battle of Algiers the Algiers fought for their rights against the French and they eventually won. This resulted in better living conditions and freedom to live as they please, for that generation and generations to

Through this mindset of the colonizers, the colonized find necessity and justification in their violent actions for their freedom and liberation. Fanon, discussing the Battle for Algiers, writes, “The Front de la Liberation Nationale (FLN) in a famous tract stated that colonialism only loosens its hold when the knife is at its throat” (Fanon, 23). If the governing force is willing to torture and kill many innocent Muslim people

Algeria’s location on the Mediterranean Sea makes its ports gates to travel towards the Atlantic Ocean for trade with the new world. The provinces importance can show the character Algiers has created through the shawl. It is made out of Silk which can mainly be found in the east, but Algiers great location makes the province a trade center of goods from all over the world since it connects Europe to the Atlantic as well as Europe to North Africa. This diversity shows Algeria’s importance

Each of the men in the cause contributed in their own way, and they reach a common goal for justice. Many innocents on both sides had died because they had the misfortune to get caught up in this war, The author of Beneath a Sky of Porphyry hoped that this would draw attention to the war in Algeria in hopes that something like this would never happen again. In the cinematic analysis that preceded over the Algerian struggle for their independence from France exposed the ambiguous nature of Western