Take Your Ten Thousand Francs and Get Out
A family or Algerian origin comes back to Algeria after having lived in France for a long time. The children, born in France, have a hard time adapting to Algerian society, and the contrast between traditionalist mentalities and youth wanting to have fun clash, reaching havoc in the village.
Mahmoud Zemmouri
Director
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Mahmoud Zemmouri
Le match France - Algérie vient chambouler le train-train de Brahim et Mouloud. Cet évènement va diviser les deux amis : Brahim revendique son identité algérienne, Mouloud fustige son refus de la France, pays qui les a vu grandir.
The movie takes place in a poverty-stricken, rent-controlled neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris. Algerian immigrants, many of whom are in France illegally, the place has earned the nickname of "100%Arabica". It's a rough neighborhood - crime is rampant, gangs of juvenile delinquents roam the streets, and the police are afraid to patrol the area. When the out-of-touch mayor decides that he wants to restore order to the area, he offers a subsidy to Slimane, the imam of the local mosque. If Slimane can get people off the streets, the mayor will continue the payments. Soon the byways of 100%Arabica are almost peaceful - but not because of something Slimane has done. The reason is that a new Rai Band, Rap Oriental, has taken the neighborhood by storm...
Directed by Mahmoud Zemmouri.
Though this is billed as a combination drama and comedy, but the storyline gives no clue as to the humorous elements of this Algerian picture. In the story, a brother and his sister are orphaned when their father accepts a challenge to fight a trained bear and is killed by it. Two decades later, the Algerian war of independence is underway. The siblings have had an incestuous relationship, but the sister falls in love with a French officer in charge of their village, and the brother leaves for parts unknown. After the war is over, the brother returns to his village, only to discover that his sister did in childbirth. He has brought back a Russian wife, and for some reason the villagers elect him to be their mayor.
