The Battle of Algiers — Movie Quotes

Spoken by the FLN leader Larbi Ben M'hidi to Ali La Pointe while discussing the strategy and immense challenges of their struggle against the French. It provides a moment of profound political reflection amidst the ongoing violence.

This quote encapsulates the long-term vision of the revolutionary leaders. It acknowledges that the armed struggle is only the first, difficult step. The ultimate challenge lies in building a new, stable, and just society after independence is achieved, foreshadowing the political struggles that often follow liberation movements.

Colonel Mathieu poses this question to journalists at a press conference. He is defending the army's brutal methods, reframing the debate from one of morality to one of logical necessity based on a political objective.

This line is the cornerstone of Mathieu's chillingly pragmatic philosophy. He argues that methods like torture are not aberrations but logical and unavoidable consequences of the political decision to maintain colonial rule by force. It challenges the audience, particularly the French, to confront the true cost of their colonial project, stripping away any pretense of a purely moral high ground.

During a press conference scene, a captured FLN leader is asked by a French journalist whether it is cowardly to use women's baskets to carry bombs into cafes. This is his defiant and sharp-witted reply, turning the moral accusation back on the French.

This is a powerful retort to a journalist questioning the morality of the FLN using baskets to carry bombs that kill civilians. The quote highlights the asymmetry of the conflict. The FLN, lacking an air force or heavy artillery, resorts to the weapons available to them. It frames their 'terrorism' as the warfare of the oppressed, a direct response to the state-sanctioned violence of the colonizer's military machine.