Algerian Times, The

The film sketches a portrait of the late seventies in Algeria, more than fifteen years after the Algerian war of liberation. The country is dominated by contradictions, between the countryside and the city, agriculture and industry, traditional and modern culture, as well as contradictions in the relationship between men and women. Though Algeria is trying to establish a socialist state, the gap between the big-city bourgeoisie and the rural population still appears to be enormous. Images of present-day (1977) Algeria alternate with a short historical summary showing the rule under which the Algerians were forced to live for centuries. The conclusion that could be implicitly drawn from the film is that, in spite of years of struggle for liberation and fourteen years of socialism, a lot is still unchanged in Algeria. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)