Film Evokes Sympathy For The Algerians example essay topic

I thought it would be relatively easy to write about the film's efforts to make the audience sympathetic for the Algerian people. To aid my efforts, I opted to go online to learn a little more about Algiers' attempts to free themselves from France. As I was browsing around, I found several references to the film, which not only aided my argument, but also strongly opposed the singular feeling of compassion towards the Algerians. The article also suggested that the film presents cause for sympathy towards the French at this time of revolution. I found this amazing until I read an article that better explained other film's depiction of Algerian liberation in comparison to "Battle of Algiers".

The article reads, "Algerian films about the national liberation war generally conform to the rule that war films are implicitly or explicitly propagandist in nature. But the most celebrated film about the Algerian war, Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers, is a striking exception. Not only does it depict both sides of the conflict with objectivity and detachment, and both its Algerian and French victims with equal sympathy, it also refuses to moralist about the methods used by the French in suppressing the terrorism of the FLN" . After reading this, I looked back at the notes I had scribbled during the film. After reflecting for a while, I came to the conclusion that the article held more truth than I had originally thought. However, since this is supposed to reason why the film evokes sympathy for the Algerians, which is what I will focus on.

The first thing that struck me was the actual number of people involved on both sides. The French have this huge army and the Algerian "revolutionaries" are a very small group. In fact, the FLN is composed of only four or five people. This makes one feel that it is a small entity rising up against a larger entity, thus creating a sense of identification for the underdog.

This is shown in the scenes where the FLN meet, as there are only those four or five people at the meetings. The next act of the French that made me feel sorry for the Algerians was the scene where the French instituted checkpoints between French and Algerian districts. Algerian men were searched inside and out, whereas Frenchmen could pass without hesitation. Also, this also brings up the issue of sexism in that Algerian women could pass through with no problem. Although they had to carry proper papers with them, as did the men, women were very rarely stopped and searched. Coinciding with this, Algerians were locked into their own sections of Algiers making it impossible for men to go to their jobs and subsequently advancing their poverty almost to the point of starvation.

The last instant that clearly rang injustice in me for the Algerians was the out right brutality of the French. They would torture those whom were thought to even have information about the FLN, and those four or five main "criminals". It was painful to watch, yet empowered me to root for the Algerians, as they were tortured to death proving that they would rather die than give up information about the FLN. To willing to do that should appeal to anyone who has been in the minority striving for equality in any situation. I cannot help but to mention the sympathy that one feels for the French in the movie also. The point I know is to discuss Algerian compassion caused by the film, but that of the French is almost as important, reminding one that the door of empathy swings both ways.

Going back the ease of Algerian women crossing through the checkpoints, there is a part in the film in which three Algerian women sneak "Western" style clothes with them and once safely through the checkpoint, change clothes to look like the French surrounding her. In this sequence of events, the three women pick up purses with bombs hidden inside. Their mission: to go into a public place, drop the bombs and leave. These actions could be considered terrorism from the French point of view and "freedom fighting" from the Algerian point of view. The audience side with which ever they have identified with through out the film so far. The scene I want to really discuss is the one in which an Algerian woman has entered a caf'e, orders something and as she is finishing her drink, places her bomb-laden purse on the ground.

At that exact moment, the camera turns to a little girl, probably five or six years old enjoying an ice cream cone. She is a symbol of innocence and na " ive happiness. The girl then smiles at the woman and we watch as the women tightly and painfully smiles back, showing us the conflict she feels for a split second. However, she resolves to drop the purse anyway and I watched horrified as she walks out and the bomb obliterates the building. This shows that not all the French are the terrible oppressors that the rest of the movie makes them out to be. However, it can be said that killing of innocent Algerians by French planes and tanks is just as brutal.