“There are 80,000 Arabs in the Casbah. Are they all against us? We know they're not. In reality, it's only a small minority that dominates with terror and violence. This minority is our adversary and we must isolate and destroy it.”

In 2003, The Pentagon held a screening of the film The Battle of Algiers, hoping they could learn something for the impending war in Iraq. The flyers 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.” With our current situation, it seems no one went to the screening.

Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers remains one of the most complicated political films ever built. Its ideas on terrorism and torture still fascinate today, especially as we continue to fight a possibly continuous war against terrorism. Many of the violent resistance groups during the 60s and 70s, including the Palestine Liberation Front, the Black Panther Party, and the Irish Republican Party, were said to be influenced by the film. The greatest lessons we can learn are from our past, and by studying The Battle of Algiers, it is possibly we could learn how to successfully battle terrorism.

The actual battle that the film’s title refers to is the events between 1954 and 1960 during the Algerian battle for independence against France, more specifically in the capital city of Algiers. The film takes no bias whatsoever, though we see most of the film from the perspective of the terrorist cells in Casbah, who would form the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN in original language).

Our protagonist on the Algerian side is Ali la Pointe. When we first meet Pointe, he is a simple prisoner being recruited by the FLN. Curious to fight back against the white man, Pointe joins and slowly rises the ranks to become one of its leaders. On the other side is Col. Mathieu, a ruthless man who had fought against an Algerian resistance in France. Mathieu comes to Algeirs with new, controversial techniques in hoping to crush the resistance.

This is a film of escalation. It shows the strength of a cause when people are dedicated. The Algerians are not afraid to use terrorism. Not afraid to kill police officers. Not afraid to set off bombs. And not afraid to use women and children to fight for their cause. But the French don’t hesitate to bomb the Cashbah nor use torture and interrogation to destroy the resistance. Matheiu immediately recognizes the pyramid system that the FLN operates under, making quick use to destroy the Algierians.

What director Pontercorvo does brilliantly is never take sides. His entire film is unbiased. We understand the desires and methods of both sides. We see the justification of these, although we comdem them for their immoral actions. Although in the end it shows the success of the Algerian resistance in 1962, the film remains committed to showing that there were no heroes nor villains, simply people.

But what remains the most powerful part of The Battle of Algiers is the documentary style filmmaking. Pontercorvo uses quick editing, gritty cinematography, and realism to the extreme. What this does is immense the viewer in this battle. It’s extremely hard to watch these murders and explosions when they seem so real, but it is truly a must watch in order to understand. The acting style also reflects this idea of realism. Except for Jean Martin as Matheiu, all the other actors are unrecognizable and play them simply straight, as you would expect for these people. This only adds to the power of this film. Because these people seem so realistic, you care for both sides, a complicated and ambitious move for Pontercorvo.

The Battle of Algiers remains one of the most potent political films of our time. As we continue to battle terrorism today, Pontercorvo shows us that fighting a resistance is never an easy battle, no matter what side. By sticking to realism, he only added to the shocking nature of this film. The Battle of Algiers doesn’t answer any questions on how to properly fight a resistance. It simply opens the discussion that we need to have.