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First released in 1967 against a backdrop of violence in American cities (Watts, Detroit, Chicago, Newark), The Battle of Algiers (Battaglia di Algeri, La) was hailed as handbook for urban revolution by the Black Panthers and other radical leftist groups. Even more essential viewing than reading Catcher in the Rye or taking drugs for the proper attitude, the film was considered a manual for revolutionary success against superior force, for in the end Algiers would prove to be France's most humiliating loss in the same manner that Vietnam was destined to become America's most embarrassing defeat.
Ironically, U.S. military officials have been fervently studying the film to plan strategies for the campaign in Iraq—a measure of how accurate the film is, fortified by the opening disclaimer that "not one foot of newsreel or documentary footage" has gone into the film. Considering the daily news from Iraq, Gillo Pontecorvo's gritty docu-drama has never been more relevant. That's why this compelling film was re-released on the big screen in New York, Washington, and L.A in 2003. Thankfully the Criterion Collection has released the film on DVD with its signature full treatment.
Relatively little has been written about the historical Battle of Algiers, and French censors consistently prevented self-examination of their embarrassing Algerian War. So this film was produced via Algerian and Italy and is about as definitive a record as you'll find, as it documents the origins and development of the Algerian National Liberation Front. With a long record of revolutions and the role of the French Resistance during Nazi occupation, you'd think that the French would be able to handle their affairs in Algeria. Besides, French nationals had been peacefully living side by side with them for 130 years. How were they to suspect that the National Liberation Front's demands for self-determination would blossom into such widespread elements?
After a bookended framing device showing the end of the "last" Liberation leader, the film opens with a boom shot over Algiers with the first 1954 communiqué to the people of Algeria:
Our revolt is against colonialism.
Our goal: restore independence to the Algerian state within the framework of Islamic principles with respect for the basic freedoms, regardless of race or religion.
It then switches to a street scene where illiterate Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) is swindling locals with a three-card Monte scam before being arrested. A believer in Algerian liberation, the former boxer is recruited to join the organization after passing their security checks. This effectively shows how the leadership is formed. The Sorrow and the Pity demonstrates an interesting corollary with its record of the French Resistance, as its members had to be vigilant among their own countrymen as they organized underground.
By depicting violence from both sides, neither French colonial authorities nor Liberation leaders are spotless. A senseless bombing against Algerian natives, provokes angry citizens to march en masse before Liberation leader Djafar (played by producer Yacef Saadi) pleads with them to stop before the police slaughter them. Swearing that the Organization will gain vengeance proves to be vastly understated. Among the highlights is an early sequence showing how the NLF plants terrorist bombs through Muslim women who disguise themselves as Europeans to get through French security guards easily to the Casbah. Some of those crazy Frenchmen even try approaching one attractive terrorist for a date. In suspenseful montages that would generate smiles on Hitchcock, the bombs relentlessly tick off as local café patrons and club dancers blithely go about their business.
This introduces the film's strongest character, Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), who proudly leads French paratroopers into Algiers. A former French Resistance fighter, WWII, and Indo-China veteran, Mathieu seems the perfect man to quell the rebellion. Competent and in control, he respects the aims of the Liberation yet realizes that his mission is to win. He understands that the natural cycle of terrorism can lead to guerrilla warfare and inevitable full-scale war, so he emphasizes police investigation to discover the roots of the organization. From his use of the tapeworm metaphor—a creature of infinite length that will continue to regenerate itself from its head, no matter how many segments are cut off—comes the definitive description of any radical groups fighting for a cause.
Martin's casting is ingenious. As the only professional actor in the ensemble cast, his experience makes him stand out from the crowd as the lone French antagonist against a collective core of Algerian protagonists. Besides using non-professional actors extensively, Pontecorvo incorporates Italian neorealixm supremely, with location shooting in Algiers on black and white film stock to achieve a true documentary look and feel. Yet the convincing drama plays like a mesmerizing action thriller that derives from the best traditions of Hollywood.
I find it gratifying that the U.S. military senses that it has much to learn from The Battle of Algiers as it pursues the various Iraqi leaders, but still have to wonder if they will understand its full message. Are they merely looking at the nature of terrorism and the structural organization of the cells to gain victory, or do they see the larger picture? As in Costa-Gavras' brilliant Z, the brief postscript underscores the one thing that most of us know about the Algerian situation. Although the French do achieve their military objectives in 1957 by capturing or killing all the leaders of the National Liberation Organization, the French still lose the war three years later. Algeria now stands as an independent nation, and this project deservedly stands as a well-conceived political-historical landmark.
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