![]() ![]() ![]() One of the most pivotal scenes of the film involves Algerian females in support of the FLN dressing up as Europeans (with a particular emphasis placed on the shedding of their Algerian identity to do so) and placing bombs in several public spaces within occupied territory. ![]() This, of course, like in reality, is revealed to be a facade, with many of the harsher methods of torture used by the French shown later on. ![]() In order to provide exposition from the perspective of the French Army, Pontecorvo rarely shows them among themselves directly, instead simulating a press conference through which the Army can voice their opinion on the Algerian nationalist movement and the tactics through which they are combating it. To complement this effect, the film is cut as if it were a journalistic newsreel ( similar to the films of Costa-Gavras), complete with the voice of a ‘broadcaster’ who recaps the events of the war up until the film’s start. In order to maintain this attempt at neutrality, Pontecorvo mostly cast non-professional actors who had been active throughout the conflict. Though fundamentally rooted in its Algerian protagonist, Pontecorvo’s film is designed to be as politically neutral as possible, particularly as opinions on the conflict in Algeria throughout Europe was divided at the time, with this film providing a global shift in the conflict was perceived by the masses. ![]()
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