NUIT NOIRE
17 Octobre 1961
Clotilde Courau, Thierry Fortineau, Ouassini Embarek

TV 5

 

A vivid portrayal of what occurred on that fateful day of October 17, 1961. 30,000 Algerians marched through the streets of Paris in a peaceful demonstration to protest France's invasion of Algeria. The FLN, the movement which represents the cause of Algeria in France organizes a peaceful protest stressing that the participants should be unarmed. The paranoid French government doesn't believe it would be peaceful so they deploy about 1000 police officers to disperse the rally. The long night ends with about 200 Algerians missing, most of them thrown off bridges into the River Seine, others shot and beaten to a pulp. They cover up the atrocities and claim the protesters were the ones who provoked the police force. An enterprising journalist who happens to witness a brutal scene comes forth and exposes the truth. A sort of documentary type of film although they cast several actors to portray real people. A film with social and moral relevance which depicted a shameful past in France's colorful political history.