The Battle of Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is one of the most urgent political films ever made, reconstructing the Algerian struggle for independence with the raw immediacy of a news report. The film follows both the FLN resistance and the repressive tactics of the French army, without simplifying the moral chaos of colonial war. With its restless camerawork, non-professional actors and unforgettable score by Ennio Morricone and Pontecorvo, it feels almost dangerously real. Decades later, The Battle of Algiers remains an explosive work about resistance, state violence and the images through which history is recorded.