Exiles is a freewheeling drama about a young couple's nostalgic desire to retrace their parents steps to algeria. Zano's impulsive idea takes him and his lover Naima from France and across Spain to the country their parents were forced to flee many years earlier.
My first dip into Tony Gatlif's filmography, and first impressions weren't so great. Admittedly, the plot outline didn't exactly float my boat: Roman Duris and Lubna Azabal play a couple of free spirited Parisian hipsters (shudder) who travel to Algeria on the hoof to trace their gypsy roots and 'discover themselves' (shudder). The main obstacle of enjoyment for me was that the central couple were so unappealing, and at times the film seemed little more than an advert for a student gap year. The early scenes in particular I found quite grating, as the cool and sexy pair lark around as if they have escaped from a Godard film.
Things pick up a little when the couple reach their destination, with some enjoyably authentic and emotional scenes with the locals. I understand this is Gatlif's speciality, and the sequences of gypsy life and ritual have an emotional resonance that is lacking in the first half. The climax is particularly memorable for its sheer energy and lack of neat self-discovery ending you might be expecting. I imagine personal enjoyment of the film as a whole will come down to your tolerance of the central duo. For me it was half a good film at least, and there is enough here to make me want to check out more films by the director.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Two young Arab lovers leave Paris, without much money or food, in search of adventure. With the vague plan of visiting their Algerian relatives, the couple ends up having experiences they never could have predicted. EXILES stars Romain Duris of THE BEAT THAT SKIPPED MY HEART.
French road trip movie surrounding Algerian immigrants retracing their parents' steps back to the old country. Disenfranchised French Algerian Zano (Romain Duris) and his lover Naima (Lubna Azabal) decide to reverse-exile themselves from their adopted homeland and take a trip back to their parents' home country. Taking along nothing but music for the ride, they fruit-pick and hitchhike their way across France and Spain. The journey proves poignant and touching as they meet African refugees heading the other way for a slice of the life that proved so dissatisfactory to the pair. Partly based on director Tony Gatlif's own background, Exiles has received consistently wide acclaim for its examination of the nature of freedom in Europe today and its deep cultural insight.
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