The Battle Of Algiers Essay

Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterful film The Battle of Algiers artfully depicts the violent Algerian uprising from 1954-1962 against French colonial rule in the city of Algiers. Pontecorvo’s film is one of the most historically accurate representations about decolonization in the 20th century. When the film was first released, it was banned in France due to its controversial subject and realistic depiction of the violent methods both used during the Algerian uprising. Pontecorvo is brutally honest in his depiction of the atrocities that the FLN and French authorities committed during the battle.
The Battle of Algiers is a stunning example of how the transition to decolonization does not occur peacefully. Whilst the FLN initiated the Algerian uprising in the 1950s, the Mau Mau were also fighting for independence in Kenya. The FLN and the Mau Mau employ the same ideology of nationalism as a justification for their violent actions. The FLN and the Mau Mau both show little regard for European life and attack public places without remorse. In the mid-20th century, the ideology of decolonization and independence grew rapidly among the colonized. A vast majority of rebellions were based upon nationalist ideologies and grew out of a need for violence. During these

wars for independence, both the colonized and the colonizer performed heinous acts of torture against the other.
The Battle of Algiers also depicts the issues brought forth by imperialism and colonization regarding the endless struggle of people to achieve their independence at whatever the cost.

French Martinique philosopher and revolutionary Frantz Fanon states in his book, The Wretched of the Earth, that decolonization is inherently fraught with violence and cannot occur peacefully. Fanon’s ideology that violence is a necessity for decolonization is evident in The Battle of Algiers where the FLN’s attacks on European and Muslim civilians and the French authorities use of torture to extract information resulted in a brutal conflict that lasted for nearly eight years and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of

people.
The film encapsulates the ideology of nationalism and the impact that it had on the members of the FLN and other nations fighting for independence. Throughout the movie, Ali La Pointe interacts with various members of the FLN of all ages and genders. As the film progresses, the growth of guerrilla warfare and the nationalist movement resulted in the increasing participation of women in the movement. In The Battle of Algiers, women played a pivotal role in the FLN due to their ability to blend in with large crowds and men’s assumption that women stayed away from violence. One of the most disturbing scenes of the film was when three women placed bombs in three public areas across the city and killed innocent French civilians. This scene reiterates Pontecorvo’s attempts to not romanticize the FLN as freedom fighters but recognize that both sides committed atrocities during the war.