The Battle of Algiers, Alan O'leary (2019).

This review examines Alan O'Leary's 2019 book *The Battle of Algiers*, which analyzes Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 anticolonial film set in Algiers during the Algerian struggle for independence. O'Leary interprets the film as a complex and ambivalent "ecology of agencies," exploring its spatial symbolism, engagement with global audiences through the press, non-linear temporality, and its position within a "contact zone" of competing ideologies and cultures. The book situates the film within Algeria's national cinema and Third Cinema discourse, emphasizing its contested ideological perspectives and its role in postcolonial debates. While the book offers nuanced frameworks for understanding the film's historical, political, and aesthetic dimensions, the reviewer notes its heavy reliance on existing literature and theory, which at times overshadows original analysis.