I chose to read a review on The Battle of Algiers done by The New York Magazine. I found this review to be rather interesting and added in information about all the characters and casting that I would have never guessed. Apparently, the only professional actor was Colonel Mathieu, played by Jean Martin. Other characters such as Ali La Pointe, were as unprofessional as illiterate peasants, but were chosen based on other attributes, as in Ali's case, his "riveting, prole-hero features" were what got him the job. The review also points out that the person who the movie originated from, was a man named Saadi Yacef, who was a rebel leader of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), and while in jail, wrote the "sketchy" first draft screen play. I think that's interesting because alot of the key events that happened (such as the women bombing the cafes) was something that really happened, and that makes the movie seem even more realistic, and even more horrifying. The one point that the review didn't make till the end, which I think is the most important is the point that the director, Gillo Pontecorvo, portrayed the battle in a sense that both sides in the conflict lost souls, and that "all men are carrion". I think the writer could have went more in depth with this and made this a bigger point. Overall I found this review to be very informative and helped me to see past just the film part of the movie, but to see the motivation behind it and the people involved in the creation.
