The Battle of Algiers and Paradise Now

The Battle of Algiers (2002) by Gillo Pontecorvo and Paradise Now (2005) by Hany Abu-Assad has obvious similarities: both films deal with problems of terrorism and suppression within occupied lands and consider the relationship between the oppressors and the oppressed. More specifically, the perceived necessitation to adopt terrorism while living under an occupation is the underlying theme throughout both masterpieces. However, despite having similar themes, the variation between Pontecorvo’s approach and Abu-Assad’s approach in the way characters and events are represented and structured influences viewers towards different associations.

Set in the 1950s in the French occupied Algiers, The Battle of Algiers begins with a National Liberation Front (FLN) member succumbing to the torture of French soldiers. The bedraggled and elderly looking FLN member reluctantly provides the location of his leader. Immediately, viewers are almost set against the French that they associate with utilizing torture and empathize with the FLN. This is important because it sets the tone for the rest of the film. Viewers now have a blind prejudice towards the French and a partial for the FLN’s success. It is soon revealed to viewers that the man the French are pursuing and the main character of the movie is Ali La Pointe. Much of the movie is told through Ali’s memories via flashbacks. Pontecorvo wastes no time in presenting the type of person Ali is. Within the first ten minutes of this film, flashbacks show us that Ali is both a con artist that hustles others with card play and a hot head with a retaliative nature as Ali punches a French teenager that trips him as he runs from the police. In this way, Ali is a direct representation of the FLN. His retaliative nature is identical to that of the FLN. When faced with a bombing of the Kasbah, the FLN responds by sending three Algerian women to lay bombs in innocent French territories. The reactionary emotions viewers feel pushes them towards supporting the subsequent terrorist actions. Even Ali, when he first joins the FLN, is told by his leader that “acts of violence don't win wars, neither wars nor revolutions. Terrorism is useful as a start, but then the people themselves must act.” While highly dramatized, The Battle of Algiers is a realistic representation of terrorism and counter-terrorism. This paired with Pontecorvo’s documentary-style techniques and editing, gives the film an even deeper sense of realism with little left for interpretation. Additionally, The Battle of Algiers gives insight into both sides’, the oppressors and the oppressed, developments, operations and plans of action. In this way, viewers are given a full representation of everyone involved in this conflict.

Similar to The Battle of Algiers, Paradise Now by Hany Abu-Assad emphasizes oppressed people’s longing for freedom and equal rights and the helplessness these people feel when those desires are denied. The two main characters are best friends Said and Khaled. These Palestinian men live with their families in a poor, Israeli occupied territory working low-paying jobs at an auto repair store. Unlike Pontecorvo’s film, Abu-Assad chooses to focus only on the story of Said and Khaled and in a more general sense, the Palestinians. Viewers are not familiarized with their opposition like they would be in The Battle of Algiers. This allows viewers to understand the main characters on a more personal and intimate level. Khaled believes there is no way to passively resolve the issues between Palestinians and Israelis. Said shares this mentality, but he also feels he has to make restitutions for his father, who was a collaborator. Both men feel strongly towards their shared goal until they are presented with the mindset of Suha, a French born Palestinian who has a budding romance with Said. Suha advocates for passive resistance and believes suicide bombing is only successful in encouraging retaliation from the Israelis. She manages