Viewed: 31 January 2005
Directed by: Gillo Pontecorvo
Listed in: Movies, Netflix

It is hard to look back at a film that had great impact and identify its innovations when its progeny is more familiar. The narrow, twisting confines of the Casbah, the non-professional actors, the angry determined crowds, Battle of Algiers seems like the ultimate documentary. It feels raw and real, the camera just happens to be in the right place every time. Because of this realism it also is a handbook of guerilla warfare. How could the modern parallels been ignored and not avoided? The film masterfully conveys the depth and sacrifice an oppressed people will endure in their struggle for independence. It does so with such style and bravado, it’s hard to conceive it could be any different.