Ian H.
Monday, October 25th, 2004
Mankind in a Global Society
Stacewicz
a training film for urban guerillas
The Battle of Algiers
Elvis Costello opens his classic Armed Forces album on the line: Oh, I just dont know where to begin. I find it fitting that this statement captures my current predicament in trying to describe my thoughts regarding director Gillo Ponticorvos 1965 drama/documentary masterpiece The Battle of Algiers. The congruousness is particularly valid here in that Costellos powerful record centers the subject matter of the songs around world politics, war, peace, and prejudice. After viewing the film days ago and devoting much thought on how to address the work in words, I still just dont know where to begin. Even if one were to ignore the overwhelming weight that the practice of terrorism plays in the lives of everyone alive today, the films eloquent realism and daily life rawness address all manners of relevant issues currently present in the world.
However, to ignore the issue of terrorism- that is so reticent in lives of American, and essentially all the worlds citizenry today- would be to ignore a core topic of what it is to be alive in the year 2004. The Battle of Algiers flows through the dirt streets and pale stucco walls of the Casbah portion of the small, but still bustling and clashing city. Well-dressed, carefree French compatriots pack cafes and dance halls on the better side of town while disdain and revolution hang in the air and move in whispers from spiteful lips to desperate ears in the quarters where the predominantly Islamic natives have been forced by their colonialist rulers. From the early scenes it is clear that the viewer is watching a dangerous place at a viscous time. As real-life explosives go, the more volatile the mixture, the lesser the spark required to ignite it all in flames, and it isnt long before violence breaks out.
The plot follows a slightly jaded protagonist, whom we cant really believe to be very intelligent or inspired in his actions. He is precisely a normal person in extreme circumstances. This is man whos experiences in life are more than enough for him to justify a calling to arms against the colonialist French occupancy. It isnt long before French police are being shot to death in scene after scene. Later on, a group of women dye their hair and dress up to look convincingly French, after which they plant bombs, concealed in their purses, in busy lunch-hour cafes. The camera often falls on the eyes of the responsible party, as they observe the people who will be dead within twenty minutes. The results are disturbingly and uncannily reminiscent of any number of frantic, minute-long clips that one might see played on the BBC World News any evening as reports of more violence around the globe continue. In one of the most compelling sequences of the film- and the one that probably earned its designation as a training film for urban guerillas- we see how a movement begins through the making of one slight move, and how it exponentially grows from there. Each segment begins with a time marker: 10:57am, one of the revolutionaries deftly slides behind a carriage in a packed marketplace. He pulls a pistol from beneath a bed of straw and fires on a policeman patrolling the area. Chaos erupts, the rebel grabs the fallen officers gun and is off. The sequences each move on with a brisker pace each time, as more fighters join. By 4:13pm, the police station is over taken and a gun fight has broken out in the streets. The guerillas have successfully deemed their force worthy of full-scale military imposition. The native fighers have proven that colonialists everywhere are no longer living in a world where their subjects will serve in idle and unquestioning goodwill. Nationalism has now struck and will only grow. The world has changed, and it all began on the streets of the Casbah.
In many ways, this film stands in opposition to almost all predominant messages coming from political powers and the media today. Citizens- especially American- are urged to despise all acts of terrorism without a second thought and to hate those who would use it as a tool. The Battle of Algiers provides a sharply contrasting and extremely important message to anyone conscious of global politics today, despite revolving around events in a small city a half-century ago. Though we only sometimes find ourselves in agreement, all human beings will one day have to find a way to live together without killing each other continuously. In the interests of everyone alive who values their life and the opportunities it affords them, understanding needs to be reached not just between one nation and another, or particular factions of any religion, but between all groups as well as on an individual basis. When overwhelming power is exerted over people who feel that their interests are hardly being represented, and when those people are exploited for whatever gains their aggressors can get from them, then desperation becomes a major psychological factor. This film illustrates that every persons action is stirred by a cause, a motivation, and no matter how small, it has repercussions. If every human being would be conscious of the fact that their own personal greed, or abhorrence, or love, or generosity truly affects all others on this planet, then people would not be so often pushed to violence, and we might be able to figure out just where to begin existing together without constant dispute. Thank you.
Monday, October 25th, 2004
Mankind in a Global Society
Stacewicz
a training film for urban guerillas
The Battle of Algiers
Elvis Costello opens his classic Armed Forces album on the line: Oh, I just dont know where to begin. I find it fitting that this statement captures my current predicament in trying to describe my thoughts regarding director Gillo Ponticorvos 1965 drama/documentary masterpiece The Battle of Algiers. The congruousness is particularly valid here in that Costellos powerful record centers the subject matter of the songs around world politics, war, peace, and prejudice. After viewing the film days ago and devoting much thought on how to address the work in words, I still just dont know where to begin. Even if one were to ignore the overwhelming weight that the practice of terrorism plays in the lives of everyone alive today, the films eloquent realism and daily life rawness address all manners of relevant issues currently present in the world.
However, to ignore the issue of terrorism- that is so reticent in lives of American, and essentially all the worlds citizenry today- would be to ignore a core topic of what it is to be alive in the year 2004. The Battle of Algiers flows through the dirt streets and pale stucco walls of the Casbah portion of the small, but still bustling and clashing city. Well-dressed, carefree French compatriots pack cafes and dance halls on the better side of town while disdain and revolution hang in the air and move in whispers from spiteful lips to desperate ears in the quarters where the predominantly Islamic natives have been forced by their colonialist rulers. From the early scenes it is clear that the viewer is watching a dangerous place at a viscous time. As real-life explosives go, the more volatile the mixture, the lesser the spark required to ignite it all in flames, and it isnt long before violence breaks out.
The plot follows a slightly jaded protagonist, whom we cant really believe to be very intelligent or inspired in his actions. He is precisely a normal person in extreme circumstances. This is man whos experiences in life are more than enough for him to justify a calling to arms against the colonialist French occupancy. It isnt long before French police are being shot to death in scene after scene. Later on, a group of women dye their hair and dress up to look convincingly French, after which they plant bombs, concealed in their purses, in busy lunch-hour cafes. The camera often falls on the eyes of the responsible party, as they observe the people who will be dead within twenty minutes. The results are disturbingly and uncannily reminiscent of any number of frantic, minute-long clips that one might see played on the BBC World News any evening as reports of more violence around the globe continue. In one of the most compelling sequences of the film- and the one that probably earned its designation as a training film for urban guerillas- we see how a movement begins through the making of one slight move, and how it exponentially grows from there. Each segment begins with a time marker: 10:57am, one of the revolutionaries deftly slides behind a carriage in a packed marketplace. He pulls a pistol from beneath a bed of straw and fires on a policeman patrolling the area. Chaos erupts, the rebel grabs the fallen officers gun and is off. The sequences each move on with a brisker pace each time, as more fighters join. By 4:13pm, the police station is over taken and a gun fight has broken out in the streets. The guerillas have successfully deemed their force worthy of full-scale military imposition. The native fighers have proven that colonialists everywhere are no longer living in a world where their subjects will serve in idle and unquestioning goodwill. Nationalism has now struck and will only grow. The world has changed, and it all began on the streets of the Casbah.
In many ways, this film stands in opposition to almost all predominant messages coming from political powers and the media today. Citizens- especially American- are urged to despise all acts of terrorism without a second thought and to hate those who would use it as a tool. The Battle of Algiers provides a sharply contrasting and extremely important message to anyone conscious of global politics today, despite revolving around events in a small city a half-century ago. Though we only sometimes find ourselves in agreement, all human beings will one day have to find a way to live together without killing each other continuously. In the interests of everyone alive who values their life and the opportunities it affords them, understanding needs to be reached not just between one nation and another, or particular factions of any religion, but between all groups as well as on an individual basis. When overwhelming power is exerted over people who feel that their interests are hardly being represented, and when those people are exploited for whatever gains their aggressors can get from them, then desperation becomes a major psychological factor. This film illustrates that every persons action is stirred by a cause, a motivation, and no matter how small, it has repercussions. If every human being would be conscious of the fact that their own personal greed, or abhorrence, or love, or generosity truly affects all others on this planet, then people would not be so often pushed to violence, and we might be able to figure out just where to begin existing together without constant dispute. Thank you.