Summary: Battle of Algiers starts with Ali La Pointe’s arrest in 1957, before a flashback cuts to 1954 when Ali was still a small-time thug. Radicalised in jail, he joins the National Liberation Front (FNL), becoming a key player in the battle for Algerian independence. Using Ali as a way to connect different events, the…
Tag: Summary
Bashu, The Little Stranger – Summary and Analysis
Summary: The film begins in the war-torn south of Iran, and the opening sequence unfolds like an action film. Bombs hit homes and other civilian buildings, date trees disappear amidst smoke, and a woman who has been set on fire because of the explosions spins in vain to extinguish the flames. Rather incredibly, a trucker…
The Pope’s Toilet (El bano del papa): Summary and Analysis
Summary: A poor Uruguayan town on the Brazilian border awaits the visit of Pope John Paul II. This means pilgrims will arrive in need of food and drink, paper flags, souvenirs and commemorative medals. Brimming with anticipation, the locals hope not only for blessing but also a small share of material happiness. Analysis: Produced in…
Bamako (Movie): Summary and Analysis
Summary: In an outdoor courtyard in the Malian city of Bamako a court hearing is taking place listening to witnesses give evidence: the plaintiff is Africa, the accused are the IMF, the World Bank and their associates. The latter institutions are accused of causing the poverty of many African countries, through their policies. Evidence for…
The White Balloon – Summary – Analysis
Summary: The White Balloon unfolds during the countdown to the New Year. The plot revolves around seven-year-old Razieh, who has her heart set on a particular goldfish. Goldfish are an essential element of a table of various items Iranians set out in celebration of the New Year, and Razieh is not satisfied with the ‘skinny’…
Bab El-Oued City: Summary and Analysis
Summary: A young baker, Boualem, steals a speaker from the rooftop of his apartment building in the working-class Algerian neighbourhood of Bab El-Oued. The speaker belongs to the community’s mosque; it spreads the disembodied voice of the Imam across the neighbourhood and keeps Boualem from sleeping in the early hours before his shift. The theft…
Cairo Station: Summary and Analysis
Summary: During a hot day in Cairo’s main station, Kenaoui, a disabled rural migrant, is offered a job peddling papers and magazines. He becomes obsessed with Hanouma, a beautiful, vivacious woman who sells soft drinks to commuters, working without official permission. She is already committed to Abu Seri, a porter fighting to unionise the exploited…
Away From Her (Movie): Summary and Analysis
Summary: The film addresses a timely subject matter: the onset of Alzheimer’s disease – increasingly prevalent in an ageing North American population – and its impact on the personal life of a married couple. Fiona and Grant face the gradual unravelling of their life together when her memory begins to fail. She gets lost near…
Awara / Awaara – Summary and Analysis
Summary: The bandit Jagga kidnaps Leela, Judge Raghunath’s wife. Upon learning that Leela is pregnant, Jagga lets her go. People believe that Jagga is the father. Though she is already pregnant when Jagga kidnaps her, the easily swayed Judge Raghunath doubts Leela and throws her out. Leela gives birth to a baby boy near a…
L’Avventura: Analysis and Summary
Summary: A group of wealthy friends leaves Rome for a yachting trip to an island off the coast of Sicily. They loiter on the island coast while the boat is docked, and then they realise that their friend Anna has disappeared at some point during the day. After an unfocused search for her, they summon…