Plot
A French teacher in a small Algerian village during the Algerian War forms an unexpected bond with a dissident, and is then ordered to turn him in to the authorities.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 7.5/10 (759 voted)
Critic's Score: 73/100
Director: David Oelhoffen
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb, Djemel Barek
Storyline
A French teacher in a small Algerian village during the Algerian War forms an unexpected bond with a dissident, and is then ordered to turn him in to the authorities.
Writers: Albert Camus, David Oelhoffen
Cast: Viggo Mortensen -
Daru
Reda Kateb -
Mohamed
Djemel Barek -
Slimane
Vincent Martin -
Balducci
Nicolas Giraud -
Lieutenant Le Tallec
Jean-Jérôme Esposito -
Francis
Hatim Sadiki -
Abdelkader
Yann Goven -
Rene
Antoine Régent -
Claude
Sonia Amori -
La prostituée
Antoine Laurent -
Le soldat français
Ángela Molina -
Señorita Martínez
Trivia:
The director approached Mortensen with his script because in his mind he was the ideal actor for the role.Mortensen gave his affirmative answer 10 days after reading it and in the process participated in the production as well.Similarly,Nick Cave agreed to compose the music for the film,after the director presented him with his idea. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
A French production about the Algerian War of Independence. Viggo
Mortensen. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis handling the OST. That was easily
enough to hook me into this.
Daru's (Viggo) history is hidden in smoke when the movie starts, as he
calmly teaches young children… About France, and French geography. So
we know that he is involved with the settlement of the French in
Algeria in some way, but something has caused his retreat to the Atlas
mountains to teach. We aren't told why, but it is made visually obvious
by the extended, incredible panoramic shots of these mountains. His
retreat to a peaceful life is shattered, as he is handed a prisoner, a
dissident against the French settlement who is to be escorted to a
trial and, ultimately, execution. This hand-off occurs early in the
movie, and throughout the journey makes for some emotional scenes as
the two extremely different men slowly understand each other. Despite
Daru's protests, the prisoner Mohamed has accepted his fate. Much to
Daru's angst then, they begin their journey.
It seems like half the film is made up of distant, landscape shots; I
was staring mouth agape, my eyes scanning over the big screen to take
it all in. These shots are difficult not to stare at, but they aren't
simply of the mountains – as the movie progresses we see similar shots,
but in these we can just make out a track, and even smaller are the two
journeymen who look like ants, even on a cinema screen. If that isn't a
visual metaphor for the exhaustive journey the two have in front of
them, I don't know what is. It also shows just how far away from home
both men are – in completely different ways. They are in the same boat,
trying to keep it from sinking, yet they on the surface they couldn't
be more different.
The film's concept certainly is nothing special: Two people making a
long trek across dangerous territory, facing their own mortality, their
values and beliefs. The film's exploration of character gives it depth
and humanity, while conversely the pair's journey is filmed like a
Western, with the raging war for independence providing a violent
background to their struggles. Both men have stakes in this war, though
again these are very different, and at first unclear. While very
different men in many different ways, the one thing they do share, and
the one motif that consistently rears its head is honour, and the
different ways this value can be interpreted, both during war and
otherwise. Themes like this dominate the film (and not in a bad way!)
as the journey of the two men is an intimate study of selflessness,
doing the right thing, respect, and loyalty.
For the most part, this film could easily be transferred to one of many
Middle-Eastern countries. Which is in many ways very unfortunate, as
many people and countries are still fighting for individuality and
freedom from oppression and war. There is no doubt that this notion was
considered when writing this film.
Unsurprisingly, Viggo is stellar in his role, speaking a slightly
accented French to match his Algerian born character. If it were anyone
but Viggo you could accuse him of showing off! But he does it so
naturally and fits into the film's world so well that you just can't
help but admire the guy. Reda Kateb, as the dissident/prisoner, plays
an apt and very somber role, fitting his character. Both are
essentially in every scene, but the film is far from boring, as not
only do we gradually find out more about these two and their respective
pasts, what they endure in the final act will have you on your toes.
One last thing that was very noticeable to me was the sound-editing and
mixing. The use of silence, sounds of harsh winds when appropriate and
an ambient OST all combine to create an incredible atmosphere. This
combination also creates a unique feeling of tension throughout,
especially when the music slowly creeps up on you, letting you wonder
where the long trek will lead both men.
This effect of tension is heightened drastically when the story takes a
sudden, sharp turn. I know I jumped out of my seat a couple of times,
not due to anything surprising, but due to the incredible use of music
to accompany the images on-screen. This is Cave and Ellis' fifth effort
at a soundtrack (I could be wrong on that number) and their second with
Mortensen. Somehow I think they have a knack for this! With the most
slight of alterations from the source short story by Albert Camus,
combined with other texts he wrote about Algeria in the 30's, director
David Oefhoffen has created a seamless adaptation.
The film certainly doesn't go down the track one would expect from this
type of film, which it must be praised for. It is a pity, then, that
the last 20 minutes of this film feel so tacked on and separate from
the tone set by the first 80 minutes. It almost felt as if they wanted
to get past the 90-minute mark, where in reality this film would have
been a lot better if it had ended at the 80 minute mark. This is the
only major flaw that I could see, that and perhaps the unoriginal
narrative.
This is obviously a film for those who are fans of foreign films, art
films, or Viggo Mortensen. I happen to be a fan of all three so I was
very satisfied!
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