Chronicle of the Years of Fire

Cannes Film Festival, 1975, Chronicle of the Burning Years by Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina receives the Palme d'Or. This is a first for an African film. A meticulous chronicle of the evolution of the Algerian national movement from 1939 until the outbreak of the revolution on November 1, 1954, the film unequivocally demonstrates that the "Algerian War" is not an accident of history, but a slow process of suffering and warlike revolts, uninterrupted, from the start of colonization in 1830, until this "Red All Saints' Day" of November 1, 54. Composed of six chapters, the film paints the merciless picture of political and warrior of colonial Algeria. At its center, Ahmed gradually awakens to political awareness against colonization, under the gaze of his son, symbol of the new Algeria, and that of Miloud, half-mad haranguer, half-prophet, incarnation of Popular memory of the revolt, the liberation of Algeria and its people.