Algeria’s Bloody Years 2003
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Patrice Barrat
Directed by Malek Bensmail
VHS, color, 59 min.
Sr. High - Adult
History, Political Science, African Studies
Date Entered: 11/19/2004
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Reference Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, OR, Newberg, ORThis well-researched, balanced documentary illuminates Algeria’s downward spiral of the last twenty years. Within this time, Algeria has plunged from a fledgling democracy to rule by a military using every means possible to crush an increasingly vicious Islamic fundamentalist insurgency. The constant bloodshed has recently been punctuated by massacres of whole villages being punished for trying to remain neutral. Some estimate that 100,000 Algerians have been killed in the last 12 years, with 250 massacres taking place in the last two years alone. Barrat and Bensmail use archival footage and conduct their own interviews to trace the development of this tragedy.
Trouble began in 1988, with labor unrest. The army, under general Khaled Nezzar (interviewed in this documentary), suppressed the riots with a heavy hand. In the next few years, the Islamic fundamentalists created a political party (the FIS), and attracted many supporters. The FIS aimed to replace the democracy with an Islamic state under Islamic law; their slogan was “one man, one vote, one time,” since there would be no more voting if they gained power. In 1991, they swept the municipal elections, and seemed poised to win the national elections, scheduled to take place in a few months. The government was unsure what to do; only half of Algerians had voted in the municipal elections, and many Algerians valued their freedom and did not want to see their democracy dissolved. These Algerians held huge rallies in favor of democratic government, but the well-organized FIS had strong support as well. This is a fascinating political dilemma. The army, unwilling to let Algeria become a fundamentalist Islamic state, chose to cancel the upcoming election and took control, with disastrous results.
Barrat and Bensmail chose their material well, and use it to present a clear, coherent account. There is one verbal description of torture and some grisly footage of a massacre. The technical quality is very good.
Recommended for any library or curriculum dealing with the political challenge of Islamic fundamentalism. Appropriate for courses on the Middle East, as well as the modern history of North Africa or politics in general.