This was by far my favorite of the movies we’ve seen thus far. The director’s conscious decision not to have a “good” or “bad side” made me constantly thing about this film for the couple of days preceding the viewing. I want to label one side as the bad guy, but I can’t. The Algerian quarter was equally as brutal as the European quarter, and similarly, both sides killed many innocent people for their cause. But my desire for the Algerians to gain independence out weighed my hope that the French would maintain colonial control.
While watching this movie, I too couldn’t help but root for the Algerians and their independence. I felt that the French had no right being in Algeria and that they were the enemy. This belief caused me to overlook the terrible acts that the Algerians were committing and convinced me that they were justified. They, however, killed many innocent lives as well, trying to get their violent and destructive message across. Its a shame that the FLN and the French couldn’t have reached a more peaceful agreement, but that just shows the reality of the situation.
I agree with this post when the director does not have a “good” or “bad” side. I think the director does this well in one of the scenes where one woman is planting a bomb. Before she leaves, the director uses a series of close ups of different people in the room from her point of view. This can portray the people that the woman knows will be innocently killed. Although planting a bomb would enrage an audience, the audience is not enraged because they also want the Algerians to win their independence.