Top 250 Challenge: 214

La Battaglia Di Algeri (1966)
Number 155 on IMDb's Top 250

The film reconstructs the events of November 1954 to December 1960 in Algiers during the Algerian War of Independence, beginning with the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah. From there, it depicts the conflict between native Algerians and French colonists in which the two sides exchange acts of increasing violence, leading to the introduction of French paratroopers to root out the FLN. The paratroops are depicted as "winning" the battle by neutralizing the whole FLN leadership through assassination or capture. Hilarity ensues. However, the film ends with a coda, depicting demonstrations and rioting by native Algerians for independence, in which it is suggested that though the French have won the Battle of Algiers, they have lost the war.

Trivia: In 2003, the film again made the news after the US Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict at The Pentagon offered a screening of the film, regarding it as a useful llustration of the problems faced in Iraq. A flyer for the screening read:

How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.

According to the Defense Department official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French."

Wow, what do I say about this film? It was a graphic, documentary style film that showed terroristic violence, a lot of it, there were drive-by shootings of police officers, bombings of cafes, dance halls and airports on one side and suspect interrogation and oppression on the other side. It film itself does not take sides and shows both with equal neutrality. It is pretty relevent to today.

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