Kapo (1960 film)

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo and written by Pontecorvo and Franco Solinas, Kapo is the story of a 14-year old Jewish girl dealing with the Holocaust as she is aided by a few to take on a new name to hide from the Nazis. The film is a study of survival as well as what a person will do during one of the most horrific atrocities of humanity where she would endure her own sense of de-humanization. Starring Susan Strasberg, Laurent Terzieff, Emmanuelle Riva, Gianni Garko, and Didi Perego. Kapo is a riveting and haunting film from Gillo Pontecorvo.

The film follows a fourteen-year old Jewish girl who is taken to a concentration camp by the Germans where she later meets a doctor who gives her a new identity as she would eventually become a camp leader during her time in the Holocaust. It’s a film with a simple story yet it’s a study of a woman not just losing her identity but also the need to survive but it would come at great cost where she loses her sense of humanity. The film’s screenplay by Gillo Pontecorvo and Franco Solinas follows the journey that Edith (Susan Strasberg) would take as she returns home from a piano lesson only to see her parents be taken away where she also gets taken and later separated where they would die. Upon meeting this mysterious yet sympathetic doctor who found her escaping a camp where she was to be killed, Edith would take the identity of a dead French thief named Nicole with the help of a political prisoner in Sofia (Didi Perego). Later meeting the prisoner Terese (Emmanuelle Riva) who is a camp translator, Edith would endure abuse and torture that would play into her despair.

The script would also play into Edith’s slow descent where she would engage in activities that would take away her dignity as well as being sympathetic to other prisoners after becomes a camp leader. This growing disconnect to her other prisoners would add a sense of disdain and resentment towards Edith as she would befriend a SS officer named Karl (Gianni Garko) whom she slept with. The film’s third act would mark the arrival of Soviet prisoners-of-war where Sascha (Laurent Terzieff) would provide Edith a return to her humanity but is still torn in her need to survive.

Pontecorvo’s direction is definitely entrancing in terms of its visuals where he would mix in elements of stock footage of World War II and match it with scenes happening in the film as if he’s capturing a moment in time. Shot largely in Yugoslavia, the film does play into a world that is in despair as much of it is shot in areas near the woods or in very dreary locations as if it’s Hell on Earth. There are some wide shots of the locations with characters dealing with their surroundings yet Pontecorvo would emphasize more on intimate shots with the usage of close-ups and medium shots that include scenes inside the houses where the prisoners stay. There are also some chilling moments such as a scene where Sascha is being punished as he has to stand up where in front of him is an electrical wire fence and a guard looking down from a tower to shoot him if he falls backwards as it is shot from above in a crane shot. 

Pontecorvo would also play into these moments that add to the despair of the Holocaust as well as slowly capture Edith’s descent including intricate tracking shots. The film’s climax that relates to the impending end of World War II isn’t just about what the Germans will do to their prisoners but what the prisoners will do in retaliation with Edith in the middle as she is torn with the need to survive but also to help out others who suffered as she did. Overall, Pontecorvo crafts a chilling yet rapturous film about a young Jewish woman’s desperation to survive the Holocaust.

Cinematographers Aleksandar Sekulovic and Goffredo Bellisario do brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography in capturing the stark detail of the locations with its emphasis on natural lighting for the daytime scenes with some low-key lighting for the scenes at night. Editors Roberto Cinquini and Anhela Michelli do excellent work in creating some rhythmic cuts for some of the drama as well as in the action and in its usage of stock footage to match what is happening around the campsites. Production designer Aleksandar Milovic and art director Piero Gherardi do fantastic work with the look of the prison camps as well as some of the towers at the camp. The sound work of Fausto Ancillai and Sandro Occhetti is superb for its low-key yet intense atmosphere to play into the horrors of the camp. The film’s music by Gillo Pontecorvo and Carlo Rustichelli do amazing work with the music with its mixture of eerie orchestral flourishes and ominous string pieces that play into the drama.

The film’s wonderful cast includes a superb performance from Gianni Garko as an SS officer in Karl who befriends Edith unaware of who she really is as he laments over what will happen next while Didi Perego is fantastic as Sofia as a political prisoner who brings Edith to the camp with help of a doctor as she copes with the despair of the camp. Laurent Terzieff is excellent as Sascha as a Soviet POW who falls for Edith as he tries to woo her but also wonders why she is cold towards everyone including him. Emmanuelle Riva is incredible as Terese as a prisoner who would guide Edith on how to survive but would also watch Edith descent greatly to the point that she starts to lose herself and be unable to do her work as a translator. Finally, there’s Susan Strasberg in a phenomenal performance as Edith as a 14-year old Jewish girl who is taken to a concentration camp and later becomes a camp leader as it’s an eerie performance where Strasberg displays that sense of loss and despair into someone who has become disconnected with humanity as a way to survive but at great cost.

Kapo is a sensational film from Gillo Pontecorvo that features a tremendous performance from Susan Strasberg. Along with its ensemble cast including a great supporting turn from Emmanuelle Riva as well as striking visuals and a haunting music score. It’s a film that showcases a woman trying to survive the Holocaust yet would deal with the sense of inhumanity that occurs to the point that she would succumb to her own inhumanity as a way to survive. In the end, Kapo is a spectacular film from Gillo Pontecorvo.

Gillo Pontecorvo Films: (The Wide Blue Road) – The Battle of Algiers - (Burn! (1969 film)) – (Ordo)

© thevoid99 2018

The Battle of Algiers

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/6/09.

The 1954-1962 Algerian war over Algeria's independence from France was a tumultuous period in the longstanding tension between France and Algerians for more than a hundred years ever since France invaded the region in the 1930s. The war ended with Algeria's independence in 1962 with the French dealing with defeat. After a few years following Algeria's independence, the war was a sore spot for the French where in 1966, Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo made a film about one of the most infamous battles in the city of Algiers in a cinema verite style. The film would be considered to be one of the greatest films of the 1960s entitled La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers).

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo with a script he co-wrote with Franco Solinas, La Battaglia di Algeri tells the story of the battle itself along with the beginnings of the war right till its climatic battle in 1960 at Algiers. Told in a documentary style in black-and-white that recalls the Italian neo-realist movement of the late 1940s and Russian cinema. Getting perspective from both Algerians and European settlers, it's a film that takes a very in-depth look into one of the most infamous battles in world history. Starring Brahim Hagiag, Jean Martin, and Saadi Yacef.

It's 1957 as an Algerian is being forced to wear a French army uniform in order to lead the French to find National Liberation Front (FLN) leader Ali La Pointe (Brahim Hagiag). He had only been a part of the movement ever since joining three years ago following an altercation with the police over a street scam where he later assaulted a young Frenchman. After being in prison for five months, Ali becomes part of the FLN after being recruited by El-Halid Jafar (Saadi Yacef). In 1956, a series of attacks on policemen forces the police to strike back while barricading parts of the Casbah area filled with Algerians. During one night, officers planted a bomb at a home at the Casbah area that killed many people.

The Algerians strike back by having three women planting bombs in various places outside of the Casbah area filled with the French in Algiers. The attacks were successful with many casualties made. On January 1957, Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin) arrives with an army to plan attacks and interrogations to find the leaders of the FLN. With an upcoming strike, Ali talks to a FLN leader who reveals that their cause has gained the attention of the United Nations. Ali wants to attack but instead, has to do nothing and let the French do their week-long strike. The strike intensifies by its last day with several of its leaders captured and such. With Mathieu taking charge, he goes inside the Casbah with his troops where he eventually captures Jafar while also making a final attack to win the battle. Unfortunately, a huge protest and demonstration movement in 1960 would mark trouble for the French which would lead to the Algeria's independence in July of 1962.

The film is certainly a provocative yet eerie take on the idea of war. Yet, it's an ugly take on war as director Gillo Pontecorvo goes deep inside to the Casbah area to see how the battle is played out. The film is really about war's ugliness and how both the French and Algerians do horrific things to each other. Though the Algerians have reasonable motives over their demand for independence, how they did it through guerilla tactics and even planting bombs in various buildings seems like they were committing terrorism. The French of course, had to respond but what they did in order to interrogate people and such through torturous methods weren't honorable either. It seems like Pontecorvo and co-screenwriter Franco Solinas decided to make a film that isn't a traditional war film. Especially in creating dramatic sequences involving the idea of the Algerian independence and Col. Mathieu planning his own methods of attack in order to give the audience an idea of the motives of these two factions.

The script is based on several accounts and stories from various people, notably Saadi Yacef's memoir, who plays a fictional version of himself as El-hadi Jafar. Yet, there's no clear protagonist as it's all based on several characters as it's really about the battle. For the film's direction, Pontecorvo decides to create the film as if he's doing a documentary of sorts but in a cinema verite style. Along with the use of the Italian neo-realist style, the film is very engaging into going inside the Casbah area and being inside buildings where the audience knows something is going to happen. In the scenes that involve bombs, there's a level of suspense that Pontecorvo creates and when they're dropped in their locations. The audience knows what's to come but what happens afterwards is horrifying.

Pontecorvo goes deep inside to the locations where the bombs happen and it's shocking. The horrors of people dying and wounded, whether it's Algerian or European is truly an atrocity to watch. By the time the French take over for the battle into the Casbah, it's clear that Mathieu's method of torture and abuse is just as bad. Yet, he is a man that has respect for the opposition offering leaders the chance to surrender and be fair. The other two characters that often get attention are Jafar and Ali La Pointe. The former is the main leader who is smarter while finding some respect for Mathieu over his tactics and mercy. Then there's the younger La Pointe who is more of a rebel who is willing to continue the fight, even during the week-long strike of early 1957 when he isn't supposed to. What Pontecorvo creates is a film that truly exemplifies the spirit of guerilla warfare and all of its chaos and horror. The result is a film that is truly relevant to this day about war, terrorism, and retaliation in all of its troubles.

Cinematographer Marcello Gatti does fantastic work with the film's black-and-white photography along with its hand-held camera movements that isn't shaky nor fast. Instead, it's very steady and captures everything that goes on without swift movements only to slowly capture everything while creating some fantastic shots from Pontecorvo's amazing vision. Notably the exterior shots of Algiers from the beach to the upper exterior look from the Casbah. Gatti's work is truly phenomenal with some grainy camera work that looks realistic in the verite style as well as something that is beautiful. Editors Mario Morra and Mario Serandrei does excellent work with the film's straightforward cutting with little bits of jump cuts to keep the film's rhythm going. Though the pace is a bit slow, it works to create the idea of suspense and events that goes on during the battle.

Production/set designer Sergio Canevari does great work with the film's art direction in recreating the homes at the Casbah to the more clean looks like bars and diners at the European section of Algiers. Very detailed to what it looked like in the 1950s, it shows the contrast between the downtown section of Algiers and the gritty look of the Casbah area. The sound work by technician Omar Bouksani is excellent in capturing the tense atmosphere of war and the chaos that surrounds in the different areas of Algiers. The film's score by Gillo Pontecorvo and the legendary Ennio Morricone is wonderful in playing up to the film's drama and suspense. From the chugging rhythms of the suspense in the bomb scenes to the cadence-style drumming of the battles. The film mixes the Algerian music filled with flutes and such along with orchestral flair of Morricone to play along the tragic consequences and sadness.

The casting is mostly small with memorable roles from Mohamed Ben Kassen as the little boy Omar, Samia Kerbash as one of the female bombers, and Saadi Yacef in a small but memorable role as El-hadi Jafar. Brahim Hagiag is excellent as Ali La Pointe, the rebellious young man who becomes one of the leaders of the FLN as he takes on many risks only to realize how important the revolution is without violence. Jean Martin is brilliant as Col. Mathieu, the cruel yet compassionate general who is intelligent though arrogant in his idea of success towards the battle against the people of the Casbah.

Released in 1966, the film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival that year along with an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film shortly after while 2 years later, received nominations for Screenplay and Direction. Though the film was widely acclaimed, it courted a lot of controversy over its subject matter. Notably in France where it was banned for five years while the film was re-edited for British and American releases over its torture scenes. In Argentina, the film proved to be very popular with the military during the years of political upheaval in the country. In 1999, the film was restored where it received an official U.S. release in its uncensored version in late 2003. The film would be shown in various art house theaters to great acclaim but it's most famous screening was at the Pentagon in 2003 for military and political leaders during the Iraq War.

La Battaglia di Algeri is a brilliant yet harrowing film from the late Gillo Pontecorvo that is powerful and relevant to the situations of the Iraq War. Audiences who enjoy war films will be shocked to see this as a film that is more eerie than most war films with its verite style and harsh realism. For art house and foreign film fans, this film is truly essential as it's one of the best films of the 1960s. It's not an easy film to watch for its violent and meditative pacing but overall, it's unique visual style along with its intense score makes it worth watching. In the end, La Battaglia di Algeri is a powerful yet haunting film from Gillo Pontecorvo.

Gillo Pontecorvo Films: (The Wide Blue Road) - Kapo - (Burn! (1969 film)) - (Ordo)

© thevoid99 2011