Monday, December 24, 2007

Il était une fois dans l'Oued: A French-Algerian Comedy on Identity

Il était une fois dans l'Oued (Once upon a time in the Oued)

Director: Djamel Bensalah
Script Writer: Djamel Bensalah and Abdelkrim Brahmi
Cast: Julien Courbey, Sid Ahmed Agoumi, David Saracino, Karina Testa, Marilou Berry, Amina Annabi, Medy Kerouani
Release Year: 2005
Genre: Comedy
Country: Algeria-France
Time: 93 min

About the Movie: "Once Upon a Time in the Oued shows the affectionately comic side of being the French-born child of tradition-bound Algerian and Moroccan immigrants to France, ca. 1988. Narrated by a scrawny, blond-haired Christian [..] [youngster] who desperately wishes he was a Muslim [Algerian] [...].
"When handsome Yacine (David Saracino) reluctantly accompanies his family to Algeria for the summer, his irrepressible pal, Johnny Leclerc (Julien Courbey), stows away [illegally] on the ferry. On board, the two lads meet serious looker Nadia (Karina Testa) and her zaftig friend Nadege (Marilou Berry).

"[...] Humor revolves around Yacine studiously avoiding an arranged marriage; his little brother being sneak-circumcised at age 9; [...] Arab-o-centric narrative also takes pains to include a thoughtful, if brief, nod to the inherent idiocy of anti-Semitism. [...]" Source: Variaty

About the Movie Director: Djamel Bensalah is a well-known French Movie Director of Algerian origins.