The Shock Doctrine (2009) Directors: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom Runtime: 82 min The economic doctrine that glorifies the free market and deregulation, widely known as the ideology of neoliberalism, is so devastating for the population that it is generally impossible to be carried out except in extraordinary situations. It was implemented for the first time …
Prison
Nazi Concentration Camps (1945) Director: George Stevens Runtime: 59 min The official documentary, made from footage that was recorded by U.S. troops during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. It was used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials. The camps are shown one after the other, and include footage from Dachau, Buchenwald, Mauthausen and many others. …
Hors la loi (2010) Director: Rachid Bouchareb Actors: Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila Runtime: 138 min This tale of three Algerian brothers who are living in France in the late 1950s and early 1960s presents an exceptional insight into the Algerian anti-colonial struggle. Critics place this movie somewhere between film noir and western, comparing …
La battaglia di Algeri (1966) Director: Gillo Pontecorvo Actors: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi Runtime: 121 min The Algerian revolution was an anti-colonial conflict between France and the Algerian liberation movements from 1954 to 1962, when Algeria gained its independence. The movie covers a period of intense urban-guerrilla activity in the capital Algiers from …
Nuit et brouillard (1955) Director: Alain Resnais Runtime: 30 min Short and analytical documentary about Nazi concentration camps, primarily Auschwitz. It covers many aspects: the construction and setting up of the camps, hierarchy and the role of Kapos (inmates who become supervisors of other inmates), the exploitation of slave labor and prostitution, starvation, torture and …
Die bleierne Zeit (1981) Director: Margarethe von Trotta Actors: Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa Runtime: 106 min The film’s title “The Leaden Times” (Die bleierne Zeit) refers to the feelings of disappointment and defeat within the German Left in the 1970s, which followed the failures of 1960s social movements. A deep hatred of the political system …