Nuit noire, 17 octobre 1961

A meticulous and professional reconstruction of true events that is imposing and moving precisely thanks to its modesty. The facts are not well known outside the circle of historians and those directly involved. On the day in question in the title, a major drama took place in the streets of Paris. The Algerian war was coming to its bitter end and French society resembled a police state. A curfew had been imposed in Paris. Immigrants were arrested at random. The Algerian resistance movement FLN (Front de Libération National) answered with the equally random killings of police officers. On the evening of 17 October 1961, a peaceful demonstration against the police and state repression was brutally broken up. Many people ware killed. It has never become clear exactly how many died, but it must have been about 200. This feature film reconstruction by Tasma shows the run-up to events in detail. The film maker shows this from the perspective of both sides, but he makes no secret of siding with the victims of police terror. His approach is solid and could even be described as classic. This is a style that matches the historic reconstruction well. It gives the film, unmistakably fiction by the way, the feeling of an authentic document. Tasma was not only interested in setting things straight historically. He sees events like this as a significant source for present-day tensions within the immigrant population. (GjZ)

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