Remembering the Algerian War: Trauma, Women, Diaspora and Aftermath in Cartouches Gauloises, Hors La Loi and The Battle of Algiers

Abstract

In this essay, I examine three films concerning the Algerian War: Cartouches Gauloises (2007) by Mehdi Charef, Hors La Loi (2010) by Rachid Bouchareb, and The Battle of Algiers (1966) by Gillo Pontecorvo. I argue that Charef and Bouchareb’s mixed Algerian-French background provides another perspective in representing the traumatic history of the Algerian War. The tragic fate happening both on the Algerian natives and the French-Algerians during the war reveals the permanent scar on the Algerian land by the colonization. In The Battle of Algiers, however, the cruelty of the war is reproduced in a realistic style, as both sides in the war manage to conquer the other desperately. Moreover, I argue that the female characters in the three films have awakened and no longer an appendage of their husbands since they attach their fate with their homeland and devote themselves to independence. All three films serve as a cultural connection between the younger generation and the traumatized one. Moreover, the spirit of decolonization will continue inspiring French-Algerian filmmakers in the future.