To know them is to eliminate them. 1 finds two others: Nos. Just as guerrilla warfare leads to warfare proper.
. Col. Mathieu Col. Mathieu To praise the film for its strategic insights is to buy into the 1960s revolutionary mystique that it celebrates; it is the collapse of that very mystique that has contributed to the film’s current obscurity and made screenings “rare.”. The film traces the rebels' struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government to quell the revolt. Had he wished to remain in the Army, he almost certainly could have done so even had he refused the assignment to Algeria. After fifteen viewings, I am more convinced each time that Mathieu believes in neither France nor its mission.
At one point, he teases French journalists for being incapable of measuring up the results of their political commitments. Take CharacTour's quiz to get recommendations for thousands of characters, movies, TV shows, books, and games that are high matches for YOUR unique personality. So you like Sartre, Colonel? Even with slight shades of opinion, you all agree that we must stay. The The Battle of Algiers Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Is there anything important that the film leaves out?The film leaves out the insurrection that was taking place in the rest of Algeria, which makes it impossible for viewers to judge how the FLN finally succeeded in driving out the French, much less what was wrong with French military strategy. I suspect that in most cases ideological certitude accompanied the competence. Colonel Mathieu. By joining Slate Plus you support our work and get exclusive content. That scenario, however, is a fantasy. * The people of the capital literally thought another scene was being shot for The Battle of Algiers. 24,000 Muslims had been arrested and 3,000 had gone missing, while the French had lost 300 dead and 900 wounded. Therefore, it's necessary to find an excuse to legitimize our intervention and make it possible. As reports of torture spread, the issue becomes a scandal in France.
: There was considerable disagreement on this point, and I was completely unconvinced. The head is the Executive Bureau. At one point Mathieu challenges the hostile French reporters with a question of his own: “Should France remain in Algeria? It is true that the French Army would have found someone else. We need to have the Kasbah at our disposal. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Patents for Power: Intellectual Property Law and the Diffusion of Military Technology, Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force, Judicial Review and Contemporary Democratic Theory: Power, Domination and the Courts, Empire of Timber: Labor Unions and the Pacific Northwest Forests, Out of Sight: The Long and Disturbing Story of Corporations Outsourcing Catastrophe, Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of “A Game of Thrones”, Race for the Iron Throne, Vol. As it is, Mathieu has all the warmth of a lizard, exhibiting respect only for professionalism and for the abstract notion of political commitment, rather than commitment itself. He relishes his own potency, quietly revels in the success of his methods. Lt. Later, we dismissed the professorÂs argument as simply a re-assertion of the banality of evil hypothesis. I have come to believe that the professor (Peter Katzenstein) was correct, that Lieutenant Colonel Mathieu is one of the most vile characters ever portrayed in film, and that it has nothing to do with the banality of evil.
The law's often inconvenient, Colonel.
It is also almost certainly true that someone else would have acted with less competence, less efficiency, less brutality, and with a lower chance of success than Mathieu. All rights reserved. “Neither wars nor revolutions.” But that depends at least in part on how the other side reacts to terror, whether the other side is France in Algeria or the United States in Iraq. French soldiers, most of whom hated the idea of torture, were tainted by the association. | His use of torture quickly puts the lie to the notion that Mathieu is simply doing his duty, as required by his position in the Army. Contact. Do they include the night-time invasion of Iraqi homes and the inevitable shooting of innocent civilians? Col. Mathieu Col. Mathieu So, the organization has already had the time it needs to render any information useless. As long as they're not eliminated, we're back to zero. I’ve probably seen Battle of Algiers 15 times since then, and each time I’ve had opportunity to rethink the argument. If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. All contents © 2020 The Slate Group LLC. That's why we don't know our adversaries. :
Col. Mathieu : So we now average 4.2 attacks a day. Fans of him like these other characters in entertainment. Wars may not be won with terror, but they can be lost by reacting ineffectively to it. Contact is made only in writing. Mathieu.” Mathieu is by far the best-realized character in the film; his is the only role filled by a professional actor. The problem is this: The FLN wants to throw us out of Algeria and we want to stay. We know they're not. As usual, the problem involves first, the adversary, and second, the means to destroy him. Unfortunately, success doesn't depend only on us. Mathieu and the French are fighting the Algerians to prevent their independence from France. 1.
This makes up the first triangle. Fans of him like these movies, TV shows, books and video games. The Battle of Algiers was the premier political film of the 1960s. This leaves Mathieu with only duty to excuse his actions. In Battle of Algiers, Mathieu is a paratroop colonel who is assigned to put down the revolt of the FLN in Algiers.
Then what? Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ characters are most like you. Col. Mathieu We're here for that reason alone. It's a faceless enemy, unrecognizable, blending in with hundreds of others. The word "torture" doesn't appear in our orders. Even so, The Battle of Algiers remains a fascinating artifact of its time.
Filming & Production
Mathieu is a critical cog in the mechanism of French colonial domination. I know you dislike that word. We must distinguish between attacks on individuals and bombings. We must deal with this minority in order to isolate and destroy it. It's not warriors we need. Col. Mathieu