(For SI blog readers Trishna147 and GaneshKumar)
* Now we know where the Indian police thugs learned the infamous ‘aeroplane treatment’ they mete out to people in their custody.
* Now we know where the Yellow Monkeys (Chinese) learned the art of brutalizing its people.
* Now we know where the CIA goons learned water-boarding techniques.
* Now we know where countless barbarians everywhere learned the practice of inflicting electric shocks on their captives to extract information.
For all ye schmucks drooling on your French memories, The Battle of Algiers should come as an eyeopener.
A brilliant black and white movie (1966) on the Algerian resistance against the French colonialists during the 1950s, The Battle of Algiers is one of the finest movies we’ve seen in our life.
And we’ve seen a lot of movies, kiddo.
Narrated mostly in flashback, the movie starts with an obviously tortured Algerian prisoner surrounded by French soldiers.
The Algerian captive has been tortured so badly he can barely stand.
Fearful of more pain, does the poor Algerian have any choice but to obey the French soldiers and betray the hideout of Ali La Pointe, the last resistance leader left standing.
Muscular Story
The single star of The Battle of Algiers is the outstanding screenplay based on a true story of the resistance by Saadi Yacef.
Such is the vigor of the story that even the two characters with anything resembling stand-apart roles (Ali La Pointe and Col.Mathieu) don’t stand out. Really.
Although sympathetic to the cause of the resistance, The Battle of Algiers strives to take an even tone in addressing the brutality on both sides. Continue reading »

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