THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1965)

Gillo Pontecorvo never equaled his great docu-drama. But then, who has? This passionately shot, acted & argued reconstruction of a battle lost (yet won) in the Algerian independence movement of the late ‘50s, is kept vital not only thru Pontecorvo’s apparent verisimilitude and technical resourcefulness, but by his startlingly even-handed approach to all the participants. While we naturally root for a David against a Goliath, as does Pontecorvo w/ his leftist/Marxist (though anti-Soviet) leanings, he’s fearless in showing the horrific layers & levels of violence used by all. And he gives the basic political articulation over to the frighteningly impressive/impassive/efficient leader of the French paratroopers, who convincing sets out pro & con views with 20/20 acumen. The casting of the largely non-professional cast is amazing and the look, sound & pacing are plainly the work of a master. His follow up, BURN, is precisely the sort of weighted/freighted political precis ALGIERS isn’t, and the rest is decades of silence. An incalculable loss.