"The Battle of Algiers" Film Review

The film Battle of Algiers is very unique and captures the essence of the struggle for independence in Algeria. The movie is filmed in a newsreel style camera angle, which adds to the “grittiness” of the experience for both the Algerians and French. This camera work is unique and reflects the director’s desire to present the conflict from a rough and raw point of view. The cuts of each scene are also very quick, like that of a newsreel. This is possibly meant to emphasize the harsh transition from one fatal encounter after anther between the French and Algerians. This interesting way to film the movie is also an attempt to separate it from other films on the same type of theme. Choosing to depict the bloody conflict in this manner emphasizes the totality of the experience for all those living in Algiers. While I do believe the film was more sympathetic to the Algerian struggle, the struggles of the French were also presented and best encapsulated with the tough French leader brought into Algeria.

While I am not necessarily a war movie fan, this documentary was different. It presents a side of the characters that is vulnerable. Even the tough French leader is shaken at times and the Algerian rebels of the FLN often encounter moments of terror. I also enjoyed the fact that the film was in French with English subtitles. Creating the film in a language different to the one actually spoken by the people involved in the conflict would have been dishonest to the experience. I also found the separation between the French and Algerian population of Algiers as very interesting. The obvious conflict and economic differences was highlighted well, most specifically when the French take out their aggression on the young Algerian boy after a bombing. In terms of how this movie relates to the greater idea of human rights, this film clearly displays the conflict of one colony for their freedom. Decolonization was a key issue in the 20th century for human rights and often includes the fight for third generation rights that were mostly denied to the colonized peoples. This film is also important because it demonstrates the struggle both the colonizing nation and colony must face in order to reach their goals. Both sides committed horrifying human rights violations, which evokes the question of were any of them justified. Overall, The Battle of Algiers is a unique and personal depiction of the Algerian’s struggle for independence that is essential to the study of human rights because of the large emphasis put on decolonization in the 20th century.