Film Analysis: The Battle Of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers is a film set in 1954 that brings attention to the conflict of independence being sought by the Algerians. We see fear and violence begin to escalate as the city of Algeria fights for independence from the French. After a violent uprising, the Algerians finally achieve their goals and aspirations of independence in 1962. Conflict is defined as “a perceived divergence of interest,” (Pruitt and Kim, 7). This means that the underlying issue is the way that the conflict is perceived. The Algerian community perceived themselves as being deprived from French colonial rule.
One of the parties involved was Ali La Pointe, a rebellious man who was imprisoned and eventually rose to become one of the leaders of the National Liberation Front. The contrasting party is Lieutenant-Colonel Mathieu, who is …show more content…
Being that the Algerians rebelled because of their denial of freedom, and not only resolved it but came out stronger from it, shows that conflict does not always have to be destructive; it can be constructive. I feel that this relates to the beginning of the semester when we discussed conflict and what that meant to other people. Most people have an idea that fighting is bad and we should avoid it. In class we discussed how sometimes it might be necessary to achieve our goals. I believe this film shows how war and rebellion can actually turn out to be a positive thing that helps the conflict overall. The French military were aggressive and took drastic approaches, especially when the conflict manifested. However, the National Liberation Front showed power in the opposite way. Unlike the French where they used a more authoritarian leadership style of power, the National Liberation Front used grievances to unite and mobilize a group of people to revolt and work towards a common goal of