The Battle Of Algiers (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #31.1 extract: The Battle Of Algiers (1966)

The first time I saw The Battle Of Algiers I simply didn't connect to it and found it a little tedious. However, on this re-watch, I saw a very different film. This is fast paced and finely tuned; there is very little fat on this story and every thing is captured with articulate cinematic language that overshadows some of the technical problems within. Though all of the characters grow to mean very little in an emotional sense, this narrative constructs a poignant depiction of revolution. In such, The Battle Of Algiers shows that the rebellion and war depicted is justified by the people in their present context, but that their acts and the situation they are in are nonetheless unjustifiable. There is then a condemnation of the abstract throughout this film; it is hard to point to black and white villains and heroes; everyone has dirt on their hands and everyone believes they are doing what is right. 

For this, I'm glad I got to revisit The Battle of Algiers and must urge anyone who doesn't like it to give it another go.