The Battle of Algiers (1968)
The French-occupied Algeria struggles for its independence, employing terrorist methods to push their agenda. You don't have to be a genius to see the current-day parallels, eh?
The film nicely employs the look of a documentary newsreel; there was this subconscious assignment of reality to what I was seeing. The filmmakers obviously side with the rebels and succeed in evoking both frustration on their behalf and sympathy for them. So why choose to leave them at times to focus on a hubristic French Commander? Sure, it shows the other "side," but simply working on a "what a jerk" level seems unnecessarily manipulative. We get it -- it's the Algerians' homeland and the French, embodied in this guy, think they've got some right to tell them how to live there. I just think it's more effective to see it from the perspective of the locals. Let the oppressors be oppressive...I don't need to know them.
B
The film nicely employs the look of a documentary newsreel; there was this subconscious assignment of reality to what I was seeing. The filmmakers obviously side with the rebels and succeed in evoking both frustration on their behalf and sympathy for them. So why choose to leave them at times to focus on a hubristic French Commander? Sure, it shows the other "side," but simply working on a "what a jerk" level seems unnecessarily manipulative. We get it -- it's the Algerians' homeland and the French, embodied in this guy, think they've got some right to tell them how to live there. I just think it's more effective to see it from the perspective of the locals. Let the oppressors be oppressive...I don't need to know them.
B
Labels: 1968, B, Drama, Oscar Nominee, War
posted by MeMe | 3:20 PM
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