La battaglia di Algeri
Regie:
Gillo PontecorvoScenario:
Franco SolinasCamera:
Marcello GattiActeurs:
Jean Martin, Brahim Hadjadj, Yacef Saadi, Franco Moruzzi, Mohamed Ben Kassen, Fusia El KaderSamenvattingen(1)
This highly political film about the Algerian struggle for independence from France took "Best Film" honors at the 1966 Venice Film Festival. The bulk of the film is shot in flashback, presented as the memories of Ali (Brahim Haggiag), a leading member of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), when finally captured by the French in 1957. Three years earlier, Ali was a petty thief who joined the secretive organization in order to help rid the Casbah of vice associated with the colonial government. The film traces the rebels' struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government to quell what soon becomes a nationwide revolt. After the flashback, Ali and the last of the FLN leaders are killed, and the film takes on a more general focus, leading to the declaration of Algerian independence in 1962. (officiële tekst van distribiteur)
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Recensie (3)
A legendary film about one of the last colonial wars, fought with extraordinary tenacity on both sides. A markedly political film in the best traditions of Italian neorealism. The film's success was due not only to the director but also to screenwriter Franco Solinas, a well-known writer. The film is crafted using a documentary approach to create the impression of an authentic documentary. One of the co-producers was Yacef Saadi, a direct participant in the uprising.
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The film is wonderfully shot, and there are moments when you're really not sure if it's a fiction film or a documentary, but its approach just didn't resonate with me as much. It's powerful, it's good, but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps it's also a bit due to the black and white, which didn't quite amplify my impression.
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"How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas." Remind you of something? Believe me, this isn’t a description of the situation at the moment in some Arab countries, but it’s a record of the rocky history of belligerent relations between France and Algeria. The strange thing about this is that an Italian stuck his oar in, not even four years after the events portrayed here. And why not, perhaps he has a useful outside perspective that we rarely find in French filmmakers so early on, if at all. Whether or not he managed to instill that perspective isn’t really so important (although the fact that screening was banned in France and the huge wave of controversy and discussion that the movie provoked all around the world indicates that he did). The important thing is that he created a wonderful reconstruction drama filmed documentary style - it’s true that we are watching the events retrospectively and not in real time, but it is completely obvious where Greengrass’ celebrated style seen in Bloody Sunday and United 93 originates. It’s probably no coincidence that this movie was made only one year after the foundations of this genre were laid by Capote in his book “In Cold Blood". The overall powerfulness of this is due also largely to the soundtrack that originated from collaboration between Pontecorvo and nobody less than the best world’s best composer, Ennio himself. It’s worth seeing The Battle of Algiers now more than any other time. It was below freezing yesterday and looks the same today. Brrr. And now I have shaken the chill off my spine by telling you how awful things are, I can calmly return to our politicians the petty little conflicts, to my cup of hot chocolate and to panicking about my dentist’s appointment today. Which is a lot more chilling than a cold day.
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Galerie (21)
Foto © Argent Films
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