This brief commentary considers an excerpt from Pontecorvo's 1966 The Battle of Algiers, a film that creates an account of the year-long struggle between the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and the French colonial powers for control of the Algerian capital occupied and colonized by the French between 1956 and 1957. It is this battle that ultimately precipitated the independence of Algeria 1962. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Algeria had been a French colony since 1830 and at the time of the Battle of Algiers, all was not well in Algeria: the opposing principles of Algerian nationalism was pitted against the principles of French colonialism and also French views on Algeria they were divided at this time. Mitterrand's 1954 statement that "L'Algerie c'est la France" and aspirations to see the Mediterranean not as a divide between countries but as "the Seine runs through Paris" were sentiments not shared by everyone in France. Algeria in 1954 with “the objective […] of achieving a political victory. It was a resolute strategy that recognized that pro votes at the United Nations would be even more important than military success.” This led the FLN to pursue "unity at all costs, seeking close surveillance and control over the behavior of its people". It is in this context that we meet the (anti?) hero of the film Ali le Pointe, an FLN guerrilla who later died at the age of 27 in a house blown up by the French military after his refusal to surrender at the end of the battle . This excerpt opens with Ali le Pointe in conversation with Saari Nader. Here one of the key themes of the song emerges: that of the moral corruption of the Algerians by the French colonists "there are still too many drunks, whores, drug addicts" "the real enemy" and the need to "conquer or eliminate them". ”. This scene shot in dim light also sets the tone for the presentation of the FLN throughout the excerpt; the dark and clandestine nature of their work is embodied through this shooting style. Ali le Pointe is presented as a man with a job to do. He moves quickly and is given a powerful position in the frame: he is often in the center of the frame, standing and given additional gravity by the cape he wears. As he moves through the Casbah we understand the respect he commands - he is known by everyone he speaks to and there is no need for him to use his name - "tell him I'm looking for him" is enough. Ali le Pointe embodies the FLN's stated goals and ambition to clean up the Casbah: he looks with disgust at prostitutes in the narrow streets, takes on a vigilante role when he encounters a contact smoking drugs, and shows no hesitation in doing so. kill an old friend who refuses to join the rebels. Interestingly, although acculturation levels in Algeria were low, Ali le Pointe can happily converse in French with a brothel owner – part of the problem the FLN seeks to solve. A useful comparison could be made between the depiction of the Casbah in Battle of Algiers and the earlier depiction of the same space in an earlier 1937 film Pépé le Moko directed by Julien Duvivier. The Casbah is described as "like a labyrinth", "a teeming anthill", equipped with "dark and tortuous streets like many pitfalls", "a mixture of labyrinths" and "dark and putrid abysses" overcrowded, diverse and populated by barbarians. and sex workers. “A city apart”. It is clear that the FLN is trying to bring greater homogeneity to the space: the Casbah will be a less diverse and morally cleaner place if their work is successful. At the beginning of the extract, a transmissionof the FLN states the ambition to eradicate the scourge of the French colonial administration which is, they say, responsible for the “misery and slavery” of the Algerian people. The FLN begins to act as a government that takes over the role of protector and moral arbiter of the French colonial powers. This scene plays like an informational video from the State (a State) with its clearly stated moral position and blunt decision to ban all drugs, alcohol and prostitution. It can also be seen that the FLN is strengthening its authority through this segment which states that "criminals will be punished and repeat offenders sentenced to death". This highlights the divisions between the FLN and the French and looks ahead to future tensions between the two divided parties. The boisterous attack by the well-organized children (a tightly knit community that mobilizes into action with a whistle) can be read as a metaphor for the rapidly organizing FLN and the ultimate fate of the French oppressor. Is it a coincidence that our drunk is wearing such a chic trench coat? Moriccone's discordant and sharp cellos suggest otherwise. The divisions between the French, Algeria and FLN are made clear in political and moral commentary and also through the cinematic presentation of the two starkly opposed architectures of Algiers. Algerians, it seems, live in the shadow of the Casbah and operate in its unique claustrophobia, while the French settlers, the Pieds-Noirs, inhabit the broad avenues of the European Quarter. In this divided city, the FLN's actions to unify the Casbah become more focused and more urgent. This is successfully illustrated in the wedding scene, a scene that brings to life many of the FLN's stated goals. This hasty and clandestine little wedding takes place in the claustrophobia of the Casbah, in small, high-walled rooms of the city-within-a-city. It seems that the wedding is a powerful symbol for the inhabitants of the Casbah: although framed by Islamic prayer, the wedding is secular and civil, the bride and groom do not wear traditional clothes but, one could argue, the clothes of the colonizer and the service itself is managed by the 'FLN and not by the French administration. The most interesting thing is that this wedding is attended by hundreds of people who flocked to the balconies and walls of the Casbah: it seems that this wedding as a political statement is more significant than the couple's union as a declaration of love. It could be seen as symbolic of the hopes of some Algerians in the embodiment of the FLN's stated goals. This marriage is itself "sovereign, democratic and social, within the framework of the principles of Islam" - these words are taken from the 1954 leaflet mentioned above. Marriage, as an act of war, also serves as an act of unification: "the day will come when we will be able to celebrate our wedding outdoors." Perhaps this is a more acceptable aspect of Casbah unification than the current threat that "anyone who disobeyed Muslim rules of conduct ran the risk of having their throats cut, mutilated or murdered as the FLN established itself as the sole nationalist force." it ends with a scene taken from the rooftops of the Casbah with a long look towards the European Quarter: a markedly different landscape of wide avenues, tall buildings, open squares, of light and air. This recovery projects us into the future, suggesting future struggles and perhaps, ultimately, the independence and reintegration of these territories into a free Algeria, underlined by a growing optimism in Morricone's soundtrack. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a custom essay The fact that this film, shot on location, with amateur actors, with cameras)