Director
Gillo Pontecorvo
Leading Actors/Actresses
Jean Martin, Saadi Yacef
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Brahim Haggiag, Tommaso Neri
Genre
Neorealism, Drama
Language
Arabic and French
Awards
Nominated for three International Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay
Date of Release
1966
Producer
Antonio Musu, Yacef Saadi
Setting and Context
The film is set in Algiers between November 1954 and December 1957 during the Algerian War of Independence.
Narrator and Point of View
Occasional narration comes from unnamed, unseen news broadcasters; the point of view switches between the main characters.
Tone and Mood
The tone is solemn and documentarian; the mood is tense and mournful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Ali; the main antagonist is Lieutenant-Colonel Mathieu Philippe.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is that Ali and the FLN must sacrifice their own safety to carry out assassinations and acts of terror in their fight for Algerian independence from French colonial rule.
Climax
The film reaches its climax when Ali refuses to negotiate with Philippe, prompting Philippe to blow up Ali and therefore kill the last identified chief of the FLN.
