“People of Algeria, our combat is directed against colonialism, our aim: independence and restoration of the Algerian state.” – Ali La Pointe, in Battle of Algiers 1966.
During the film, Battle of Algiers, French fascist Colonel Phillippe Mathieu asked: Why are all the Sartres born on the other side?
When asked whether he liked the anti-colonial intellectual, Jean-Paul Sartre, Colonel Mathieu’s response was tinged with an understanding of the power of Sartre’s words:
‘No, but I like him even less as a foe.’
The colonel used torture, informants, and military repression to break the cell structure of the FLN.
There is another Algiers and a different Casbah than that depicted in John Cromwell’s ‘Algiers’ that depicts a jewel thief named Pepe who is on the run after stealing priceless diamonds. He is caught in a romantic triangle while keeping himself away from Inspector Silmani
The ‘real’ Casbah was the headquarters of the FLN – the Algerian resistance from 1954 till 1962. The FLN was routed by a French Lt. Colonel Mathieu, a veteran of La Salle Guerre (the dirty war) in Vietnam.
The Battle of Algiers matched the brutality of the US military in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers depicted the savagery.
Battle is about a different kind of betrayal than John Cromwell’s ‘Algiers, political, not personal. All activists should see this film to try to understand how the defeat of an insurrection is not necessarily a defeat of a struggle.
What we are witnessing now in Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank) is an insurrection against colonial rule imposed by Israel and the United States on the native population of Palestine. This battle could go on for another two or three or even four years. Already, the genocide is complete because recovery from this slaughter will be generational.
Short review of the Battle of Algiers by Ian Curr.