ABSTRACT
A ground-breaking film on France during the Algerian War was Elise, ou la Vraie Vie, from director Michel Drach. In confronting Algerians’ experiences in France, Drach offered a sober look at aspects of the conflict unfamiliar to many of the French. Heading for Algeria, the troops join a riot at a train station where Communist demonstrators try to block their departure. The tortured prisoner is finally executed – the draftees see him led away then hear gun shots in the distance. Among the soldiers, only Charpentier, March, and Dax, show any concern for Algerian civilians. After a montage of newsreel footage from Algeria behind the opening credits, the film opens with a car chase and the arrest of a French general fleeing the police. The principal motive the film identifies is the conspirators’ sense of obligation to fulfill promises made to keep Algeria French and protect the pieds noirs and the harkis – question of honor for these military men.
