The Battle of Algiers

(La battaglia di Algeri) Gillo Pontecorvo’s riveting film presents a verité portrait of the fight for Algerian independence and the French military’s response. Pontecorvo’s groundbreaking portrait of the Algerian fight for independence, charting the tactics of the movement and the violent response by the colonial French government, remains one of cinema’s most striking political works. Sarah Maldoror worked with Pontecorvo on set as continuity supervisor, costume designer and as a liaison with some of the local population. Ennio Morricone’s brilliant score heightens the tension, but never lifts us out of the harsh realities of the situation. Contains scenes of torture.