A Muslim resistance group, the FLN, have organized in the segregated Casbah ghetto of Algiers. Among the leaders is Ali La Pointe (Brahim Hadjadj), a former illiterate street criminal. The FLN tactics have evolved into terrorist acts such as bombings and shootings targeted at French civilians.
The French respond by bringing in the ruthlessly effective Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), who imposes martial law. Mathieu supervises the systematic arrest and torture of Casbah Muslims, which yields information about the FLN. Soon, the entire FLN chain of command, from top to bottom, is either arrested or murdered.
How I felt about it. Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo's previous experience was primarily the making of documentaries. Thus, The Battle of Algiers has a gritty documentary feel to it. It is as if we are there. The story is never sidetracked by romance or other human interest. It is all about the rise and fall of Ali La Pointe and the brilliant tactical success of French Colonel Matheiu.
Neither side comes off well. The FLN could have continued to target French policemen, but extended their tactics to terrorism aimed at the local French population. We see that women and children are victims. Their only crime is that they are family members of occupiers. One can't condone such random murder, even in response to French bombings of Muslim neighborhoods and villages.
The French look even worse. They have "colonized," or seized, the best parts of Algiers, and herded Algerians into a densely populated and impoverished Casbah ghetto. Rather than give up Algeria, they fight the terrorist network by trampling on the civil rights of Algerians. Their homes are destroyed, and they are arrested, forced to work, and tortured. Undoubtedly, many innocents who simply looked like they could be FLN members were extensively tortured even though they had no useful information to reveal.
Purportedly, the Algerian government funded the movie. There are only two credited producers, veteran Italian filmmaker Antonio Musu and Algiers native Yacef Saadi, whose only film credit as actor (he plays an FLN 'exec') or producer is the present movie. Saadi was a leader of the FLN, and per wikipedia.com, is alive today and remains politically active as an Algerian senator. Saadi's 1962 memoirs were the basis for the screenplay.
How others will see it. The Battle of Algiers impressed nearly every male that saw it. Its impact and influence is demonstrated by the slow pace in which it garnered awards: a 1967 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, two 1969 Oscar nominations (it was belatedly issued in the U.S. in 1968) for Best Director and best adapted screenplay, and a 1972 U.N. Award from BAFTA.
Today, the movie has an extremely high user rating of 8.3 at imdb.com, and is in that website's Top 250, remarkable for a black and white foreign language movie with a no-name cast. However, there is a whopping gender spread, and women over 45 give it only 4.9 out of 10. This romance-free film makes all sides look bad, and undoubtedly many women consider it unpleasant, while men see it as gripping.