#Battle of Algiers

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[Note: This poll is a re-do of an older poll, as the original poll received less than 2,000 votes.]

[sissa-arrows]

A French officer defending the colonial occupation of Algeria in the film “The Battle of Algiers”. Sounds familiar, right ?

[image description in the ask: French colonel in the Battle of Algiers saying « those who call us fascist forget the role many of us played in the resistance. Those who call us Nazis don’t know that some of us survived Dachau and Buchenwald. »]

Very familiar! Indeed. And completely irrelevant. My great grandpa fought against the Nazis. He was made a prisoner and organized his escape with other soldiers. Later he fought for the independance of Algeria. So what if some of the French oppressors fought against Nazis? Being right once doesn’t make your right for the rest of humanity. (I learned the fighting against Nazis thing like a year ago my grandpa was talking to my grandma about a region and then he casually said « that’s where your father was fighting against the Nazis and at some point he got captured but he eventually escaped » and I was like « wait what? Why are y’all always dropping important family lore casually without warning me? » but my family’s tendency to do that should be kept for an other post.)

That being said my favorite quote from him in the movie is actually this one.

[description: Multiple images from the same movie with the same French Colonel saying « we’re neither madmen or sadists. We are soldiers our duty is to win. It’s my turn to ask a question. Should France stay in Algeria? If your answer is still yes then you must accept all the consequences. »]

In the movie he is replying to a journalist who bring up the use of torture and his answer to it is perfect. He is basically saying that what they are doing is what’s necessary to keep Algeria. So people can’t at the same time condemn their action AND want to keep Algeria. He is saying that they are responsible just as much as the soldiers.

It joins what I keep saying about liberal Zionist and settlers. You’re either against colonialism and therefore against the violence it brings. Or you’re in favor of colonialism and therefore complicit in the violence it brings. You don’t get to support settler colonialism but complain about the violence that has ALWAYS been necessary to maintain settler colonialism.

(It’s interesting that he is the only main character in the movie who is completely fictional. The Colonel Mathieu didn’t exist while all the Algerians mentioned by name did exist for real… they did that to avoid legal action but part of me think it’s also because the Colonel Mathieu is there to make white people face their actions and they didn’t want to give that role to a murdered and white supremacist who actually existed. He is not a good guy but he also completely right in the quote I shared.)

[watchlist-poll]

Wikipedia link

Letterboxd link

[ltwilliammowett]

Oval enamel patch box wih a hinged lid, after a Rodney Shackell drawing, depicting the Bombardment of Algiers, 1816. Made in Bristol, 1982

[impoliticwestie]

Coldharbour Lane, Brixton London, 2024.

London becomes a film strip as one walks down Coldharbour Lane, alongside the Brixton Ritzy.

[rastronomicals]

1:16 AM EDT September 22, 2023:

John Zorn - "Battle Of Algiers" From the album The Big Gundown (1985)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Zorn covers Ennio Morricone.

Lower image is of Tzadik's 2000 reissue.

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[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"ACTS OF VIOLENCE DON'T WIN WARS. NEITHER WARS, NOR REVOLUTIONS."

PIC INFO: Resolution at 3170x4255 -- Spotlight on am original French movie poster design for "The Battle of Algiers" (1966), controversial docudrama on the French-Algerian War from director Gillo Pontecorvo (film was produced in 1966 but banned in France until 1971).

"Acts of violence don't win wars. Neither wars, nor revolutions. Terrorism is useful as a start. But then, the people themselves must act. That's the rationale behind this strike: to mobilize all Algerians, to assess our strength. It's hard to start a revolution. Even harder to continue it. And hardest of all to win it. But, it's only afterwards, when we have won, that the true difficulties begin. In short, Ali, there's still much to do."

-- BEN M'HIDI to Ali la Pointe (screenplay by Franco Solinas)

Sources: https://filmartgallery.com/products/the-battle-of-algiers-4961 & https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu.

[thevellaunderground]

Algiers: A Soulful Journey Through Post-Punk and the Quest for Peace

Algiers, a transcontinental trio hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, has carved a unique niche in the music world. Their sound defies easy categorization, blending elements of post-punk, gospel, and blues into a mesmerizing tapestry. But beyond their genre-bending music lies a deeper exploration of themes like resistance, struggle, and the pursuit of peace. The Birth of Algiers The band’s name…

[classicfilmsource]

It’s hard enough to start a revolution, even harder to sustain it, and hardest of all to win it. But it’s only afterwards, once we’ve won, that the real difficulties begin.

The Battle of Algiers (1966) dir. Gillo Pontecorvo

[roseillith]

LA BATTAGLIA DI ALGERI // THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) dir. GILLO PONTECORVO

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[sissa-arrows]

So aware were we of current events that when, in March 1954, one fateful piece of news arrived, it instantly set us apart. Having completed the first two hours of classes, we were enjoying our ten o’clock break on the school’s esplanade, which swarmed with students and their usual noise. But suddenly, a silence crept across the crowd as the news was relayed from one group to the next: France had been defeated at Diên Biên Phu in Indochina!

Though it was beautiful that morning under the blue sky of Algiers, overlooking the sparkling bay, a mournful silence enveloped the esplanade. Some students fell into tears, others were silent. It was a moment of mourning. But when Mimi, Samia, and I glanced at one another, smiles crept into our eyes as we silently rejoiced with Indochina, each of us shouting a great “Hurray!” with our eyes. And as soon as we managed to find ourselves alone, we all began asking the same question at once: Why not us?

Zohra Drif in Inside the Battle of Algiers: Memoir of a woman freedom fighter

[falsenote]

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

[ofpd]

what my father doesn't understand is that my high school did not radicalize me about palestine by showing me a milquetoast documentary about building compassion among people in palestine; it radicalized me about palestine by showing me the battle of algiers

[ragingbabysyndrome]

The Battle for Algiers (1966)

[rastronomicals]

1:01 AM EST January 25, 2024:

John Zorn - "Battle Of Algiers" From the album The Big Gundown (1985)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Zorn covers Ennio Morricone.

Lower image is of Tzadik's 2000 reissue.

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