The subject of decolonization is not one that is oftentimes addressed in film. However, there are two films that, in my opinion, do indeed get it right. One is the popular 1982 biopic by Richard Attenborough, Gandhi. The other is a lesser known film in the French language from 1966 entitled The Battle of Algiers. While Gandhi focuses on Gandhi's methods of nonviolence in the face of attack, The Battle of Algiers focuses in on the terrorist methods used to defeat the French in Algeria. Both are excellent films, and you can view the trailers for each of them below. Over spring break, I would highly recommend viewing one or both of these films. If you have already seen Gandhi, The Battle of Algiers is certainly worth your time, as it is shot in a gritty 1960s style of film making that is quite rare now. Enjoy both trailers below...Thursday, April 2, 2009
Decolonization on Film
The subject of decolonization is not one that is oftentimes addressed in film. However, there are two films that, in my opinion, do indeed get it right. One is the popular 1982 biopic by Richard Attenborough, Gandhi. The other is a lesser known film in the French language from 1966 entitled The Battle of Algiers. While Gandhi focuses on Gandhi's methods of nonviolence in the face of attack, The Battle of Algiers focuses in on the terrorist methods used to defeat the French in Algeria. Both are excellent films, and you can view the trailers for each of them below. Over spring break, I would highly recommend viewing one or both of these films. If you have already seen Gandhi, The Battle of Algiers is certainly worth your time, as it is shot in a gritty 1960s style of film making that is quite rare now. Enjoy both trailers below...
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You were right when you said that this film made you feel that you were watching a documentary with actual footage. When I saw the photo on the blog, I thought it was an actuall picture of the events taken place.
So i haven't seen either of these two but they both seem pretty interesting. I really like the second one, The Battle of Algiers. If it's like what you said it was like today in class, then i will watch it. The Gandhi one didn't seem all that great to me though. for some odd reason, the person to play Gandhi was funny to me. Like when i saw Gandhi the first time in the trailer, i started to kinda laugh. it was weird... Maybe it's just that i imagined Gandhi a lot older or something.
i really want to see that algeria movie. its hard to tell if its bad that there bombing and shooting people or if its okay because of the problems of decolonization...
I still cant get over that France considered Algeria to be a part of France. That would be like if the Eskimos in Alaska led an independence movement and started setting of bombs in Anchorage and Juneau. This film seems very interesting and I want to see it now. The parallels between Algeria and the United Stare's war on terror are very evident in the trailor so they must be throughout the movie.
I can't wait to see both movies if the trailers were great i can imagine the moives are much much better.
did people know that women were being used to plant these bombs? because it seems weird that they wouldnt start questioning women doing it..
oh and the battle of the algiers movie looks really good.
Yep, my friend Angela and I are having a movie weekend, and Gandhi is on the list! I'm psyched! :)
it was kinda shocking to see women being involved in violent acts and bombings and such. I mean... these women looked well civilized and properly dressed. really unexpected..
I don't think most people knew that the women were planting bombs... any woman could "forget" her purse and walk out. Then, when a bomb goes off, no one knows where it comes from because no one is still alive.
That is kind of weird that they didn't catch onto the women having the bombs.i mean if they searched all the men and not the women then the bomb went off then it was obviously a woman or a kid.
The terror and mass desrtuction is evident in even the trailor for the battle of algiers. women crying kids running buildings crumbling, and soldiers still wanting to reinforce the fact that they cannot let go of algeria. its sad. 4.2 "incidents" a day? they are hardly incidents. they are plotted, intentional attacks on individuals and certain groups.
And I've seen ghandi, but his separation from both the mulims and hindu becomes jsut as great as the separation between muslims and hindus as the story unfolds more and more. in the end, he is left with two warring communities. And disunity is the exact opposite of what he wanted. He promoted nonviolent protest while trying to bring all of india's people together.
I remember watching Gandhi in like 7th grade, but i forgot every part of it. Now since i know about the material, i really would like to watch it again. I mean both of these films gave me goosebumps because they were so good. I felt like i was actually in India or Algeria. The explotions, the shootings etc are so realistic!
I really really really want to watch these over the spring break.
whoa. that looks like an EPIC movie [battle of algiers.] and i'd love to see gandhi too!
that's some intense stuff. banned in france and screened by the pentagon!?
if i were into that stuff i'd watch it... but i've got a weak stomach. props to the film maker though... i mean, it looks real and amazing. i'm practically speechless!
Alright, I've got to say it...:"Mean Girls" is on. ABC Family. Something educationl, anyone? lol
I tried to find "Battle of the Algiers" at Blockbuster, but they didn't have it
I can try somewhere else, Netflix?
yeah, or blockbuster online, that's how i watched it.
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