Search - Exiles on DVD

A Road Movie to Algiers

Kardius | USA | 10/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This road movie follows a pair of Parisian bohemians that travels to Algeria, by way of Southern Spain, where they both have family ties (his French and hers Arab). The film is propelled by a pulsating soundtrack featuring Middle Eastern and Spanish gypsy rhythms that is sometimes pretentious (especially during the opening song) but always catchy and interesting. The plotlines is incredulous at times and the shots are also too obviously intended to be symbolic and socially meaningful, at the expense of credibility, but Romain Duris and Lubna Azabal, as the couple searching for meaning and identity by travelling to Algiers, are two of the most interesting and watchable young stars working in French cinema today and make the cinematic road trip to Algeria worthwhile."

2nd Generation Algerian immigrants in France in search of th

Utah Blaine | Somewhere on Trexalon in District 268 | 12/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two second generation, twenty-something Algerian immigrants living together in Paris decide they want to return to their roots and spontaneously go on a journey to Algeria. The pair has only vague memories of Algeria, most of what they know has been told to them by their parents and family. They have little money, so they must walk and work their way into and through Spain, then hop a boat across the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way they encounter a wide range of migrant people living in Europe. They fall in with gypsies for a while, they also encounter illegal Algerian and Moroccan immigrants who are working their way north to Paris. For much of this film, the wanderers are heading in the opposite direction as everyone else. After a few mis-adventures, they finally get to Morocco, take a bus to the Algerian border, and with some help illegally cross into Algeria. Once there, they find that life in Algeria isn't quite what they had envisioned. For all of their attachment, they really are strangers to this land. They do find however, that there is much to learn and much to value in Algeria, even if it is quite different than Paris.

There is a lot to like about this film. The main themes of this film are identity and culture clash. The immigrants identify with a culture that they barely recognize, but after some difficult adjustments they realize that there is much to be proud of. As mentioned in the other reviews, there is lots of great Magrebian music played on traditional instruments played through out the movie. Very nice performances by Lubna Azabal and (particularly well acted) Romain Duris. This film provides an interesting window into the life and culture of illegal immigrants from North Africa in Europe, as well as some insights into modern Algeria. In my opinion, there are some similarities in theme between this film and the early 70s film Walkabout with Jenny Agutter. In any case, this is a good story about voyage of exploration and self-identity, definitely worth a look, if not uniquely outstanding."

Finding one's own identity

Reader | Boca Raton, FL | 01/16/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A young couple of Algerian descent lives in Paris. One day, on the whim they decide to go to Algeria, on foot. In the course of the film we learn that young man's parents were killed in a car accedent when he was a child. Young woman's father was married to a French woman and never thought his daughter to speak Algerian. Both of these young people are damaged. But there weaknesses make them perfect for each other. On their trip through Spain, they meet brother and sister from Algeria who are on their way to Paris to find work. To them it is incomprehensible why these two lovers speak no language of their ancestry and why they are going into a place both brother and sister are trying to escape from.

It is an interesting film about self-discovery, sexual awakening, national identity and spirituality strapped from religion. Differences in all its absurdity: language, the way we dress, interact with each other and treat each other."

Exile---a very good film

Elizabeth Lincoln | usa | 09/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"an emotionally intense movie with a lot of deoth, incredible images of the emotions invoved in being an exile and of healing and self discovery. duris and lubia and the director were all wonderful."