El taaib (2012) Reviews

• Algerian Amnesty less than perfect.

  Mozjoukine2013-06-30

  Turning up in the local Arab Film Festival, this is an intriguing view of Algeria, with brotherhood fighter Asli turning himself in under the Civil Concord amnesty. Agro neighbours crowd round wanting his blood. Takiret, the police officer, who accepts the boy's pistol, sends him to Benzari's café, where he is given a job and sparse accommodation. The Owner complains when Asli goes to the chemist but the boy has recognized the pharmacist, causing him to dig the plastic wrapped pistol out of the flower pot the pigeons nest in and call his separated wife. A back story emerges of retribution in the highlands, which the army claims to have cleared of militants, before an abrupt, enigmatic ending. Set in grubby streets where the only new items are the cars driving them, and emphasizing the anguish of the divided society, this one is slack paced by the standards of Western film but it makes it's points effectively. The murky colour and adequate technique are less accomplished than the best of the French Algerian films which reach us, though this one is still disturbing.

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