For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Outside The Law
The Impression:
A generation spanning French film about the Algerian
underground and their attempts to bring France to its knees
to force independence. Looks big and pretty and criminal.
The Reality:
It’s good to see that other countries besides America can
make bloated historical dramas. I just thought that our
horrific need for patriotism somehow fueled these
occasionally entertaining bits of pig fat. Not to say that
Outside The Law is a terrible film, or even terribly
excessive for that matter. Instead, the story of three
brothers and their interweaving lives amongst the FLN (the
Algerian National Liberation Front) has its moments of
beauty and thematic importance. Sadly, it adheres to the
basic tropes of the historical drama and what could’ve been
a deep and meaningful reflection on what we do to promote
our causes, comes across as predictable. The National
Liberation Front of Algeria was pushing for independence for
great reasons but to do so they had to turn themselves in to
the types of people they fought so heartily against. I
wanted a greater look in to that mindset. How do we convince
ourselves that what we do is okay as long as it advances the
cause? And when do we push too far? This film, though it
takes a few swipes, never ejects any solid answers.
Outside The Law is a good, entertaining film about a
section of history deserving of more light, I just thought
it could’ve been more.
The Lesson:
Sometimes a good film just needs to grasp a little bit
higher to make it a great film.
- Noah Sanders
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