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The Major Arguments of the Film
Among the major arguments brought forward by the film, “The Battle of Algiers” of 1966 by Gillo Pontecorvo is that winning a war depends on strategies and tactics as well as. Freund (2) argues that although the French were tactful, they failed to quell the insurgency by the National Liberation Front and the Algiers as a whole.
The French had lacked long term strategies for ensuring peaceful coexistence with the Algiers in their own country. According to Freund (5) the tactics employed by the French military that comprised of torture and murder did not succeed as it did not help them obtain critical and immediate information about the operations of the FLN. FLN’s leader, Ali La Pointe being a native was able to convince the Algiers populace to join the war in liberating Algeria by misinterpreting the Muslim teachings to them (Mathews 6).
The movie tries to show that negotiation is very important in solving conflicts. According to the movie, Ali says that he is not ready for any negotiations with the French reiterating the words of the then Interior Minister Francois Mitterrand (Freund 7). The movie concludes that the French worn the war using the tactics, however, they soon lost as the Algiers later worn the battle to achieve independence.
The movie also reveals that disconnecting the leader of an insurgent or terrorist can be very effective in destabilizing a terrorist gang. Despite the torture and murder that the French military employed on the insurgents and the Algiers populace, they were still resilient until the time when Ali was killed.
The movie shows pictures of women and children involve in the war as children shoot soldiers and women plant bombs in French quarters (Freund 2). The French therefore had worn the war as the FLN had no leader to coordinate their activities and to provide the necessary leadership.
The movie also creates the picture that it is not possible to win the war against terrorism or achieve independence through terror. The movie tries to show that the Algiers terror campaign failed to succeed. The bombings and the shootings done by the FLN is portrayed as futile and strategically pointless in the film (Freund 10).
The movie also shows that torture did not yield much result in helping the French military acquire more information although somehow it worked out. In the film, Col. Mathieu, explains to the journalists where he finds torture necessary in quelling the insurgents.
The historical/social/economic setting of the film
Historically, the film justifies the FLN’s terrorist activities as a fight for independence. The film reveals the social injustices that occurred as nations fought against their colonial masters to liberate themselves (Mathews 8). The film also creates a picture what both civilians had to go through as countries struggled for independence.
It shows series of street fights between the French and the Algerian civilians; pictures of French nationals being assembled in checkpoints laid by the Algerian civilians; and pictures of celebrations by the Algerian civilians as their torture and kill innocent French nationals. The film depicts the cruelty of the tactics employed by military personnel in fighting terrorist gangs and insurgents.
The pictures of tortured Algerian men with shattered faces and broken limbs show the crimes against humanity committed by the military. The film also provides evidence for economic deterioration brought by wars between terrorist gangs and the military.
The film shows pictures of bombings of the French quarters as the French military also blows up house suspected to be Ali’ hiding place (Smith 5). The movie shows pictures of Algerian women wearing make ups, uncovering their hair and dressing like European women to enter civil French quarters to plant bombs (Smith 10).
Relevance to Contemporary Issues
The film is relevant to the contemporary issues regarding the fight against terrorism. It reveals the tactics employed by the terrorist gangs to convince their members of the public to support their activities and to join the war. It also explores the strategies and options available for them in their terror campaigns.
However, the most important issue depicted by the movie is creative strategies in fighting the war against terrorism that is a major threat to the global security. Countries fighting terrorist gangs in far land nations have to understand the consequences of the presence of their troops in those countries and therefore react effectively and tactfully.
The countries have to ensure that their fight against terrorism is done tactfully and strategically not to arouse the wrath of the local citizens. The film shows that the application of torture may not be employed in every situation even though it may be efficient in acquiring critical information. The film calls for maintaining increasing the fight against terrorism while applying creative strategies which do not infringe human rights (Freund 10-14).
Relevance to Peace and Conflict Studies
The movie is relevant for peace and conflict studies as it clearly brings out the need for solving conflicts through negotiations. According to the film, the process could have been solved peacefully within few months but both leaders; Ali Pointe and the French internal minister did not recognize the need for negotiations.
The film documents the failures of solving conflicts through violence. Both the French and the FLN lost as both sides suffered economic and social losses as well as deaths of human beings. It shows that conflicts are solved through effective leadership and not by military engagements.
Works Cited
Freund, Charles, Paul. The Pentagon’s Film Festival: a Premier for the Battle of Algiers. Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC, 27 August, 2003. Web.
Mathews, Peter. The Battle of Algiers: Bombs and Boomerangs. The Criterion Collection, 2011. Web.
Smith, Wendy. From Oppressed to Oppressors. The American Scholar. Org, 2008. Web.
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