This highly acclaimed Italian/Algerian coproduction was, in 1966, the first European film to treat the explosive subject of colonialism and wars of liberation--specifically, the Algerian struggle for independence from France. It remains a classic in terms of style, as well. In his book Film as a Subversive Art, Amos Vogel writes, "Because of its perfect fusion of form and content, this is one of the most strikingly successful subversive films ever made.... Incredibly, this huge 'documentary' of the Algerian struggle against the French--street battles, bombings, riots, mass strikes, assassinations--was entirely staged, and made to resemble authentic newsreel shots by the use of high-contrast, high-grain film stock, hand-held cameras, and intentional jump-cuts."