Battle Of Algiers

Year: 1966

Grade: B+

Country: Algeria

Director: Pontecorvo

Review

so april has been the month of revolutionary movies. it started with “general idi amin dada” (uganda) on april first, then i watched “the trials of henry kissinger,” (which had a lot to do with vietnam’s attempt at independence), then “lumumba,” (congo) then “earth” (india) and now “the battle of algiers” (algeria). all this has happened quite by accident. this is the most detailed of the group. general idi amin dada and the trials of henry kissinger were both documentaries, and earth was more focused on the people’s view of the revolution. lumumba and the battle of algiers, on the other hand, follow the leaders of the revolutions. each approach is interesting in its own way. this film uses a cinema verite style. cinema verite doesn’t try to emulate a documentary, but it does borrow some aspects from documentary filmmaking to add to the authenticity of the work. cinema verite filmmakers will use cuts that you wouldn’t be able to use if you were making a documentary and they’ll take the camera places that documentary filmmakers wouldn’t be able to go, but they film on the streets with amateurs and try to use handhelds as much as possible. the battle of algiers does all this and tells a compelling story in the process. the story should always be the primary concern…the execution is, of course, very important, but sometimes there is a tendency to emphasize the way rather than the what; this film avoids that. there weren’t any weak performances and it makes you wonder how some films can have such good performances from amateurs, while so many professional films are littered with poor performances. after seeing it i realize why it’s getting the criterion treatment this fall.