Exiles (2004)

Romain Duris (The Beat that My Heart Skipped) stars in this sexy seductive road movie. A young couple both of Arabic blood leave Paris with no money jobs or connections and travel to his ancestral home of Algeria. In search of re-connecting to their roots the couple inches their way across three countries by foot bus train ship and hitched rides. A joyous celebration of life and culture Exiles traces their tumultuous steamy journey against a whirlwind of colors and exotic locales. The couple's arrival at their final destination culminates in a riotous ecstatic frenzied 10-minute musical explosion. System Requirements:Running Time 104 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 014381297027 Manufacturer No: HVE2970DVD Product Description

A musical jouney to home

Lots of music components, while watching the DVD, I feel touched by the music in the background. I am also touched by the plot which is two 'strangers' in France tried to journey back to Algeria to find their ancestors' root. A very god movie of Tony Gatlif. Exiles promises a definition for why people feel empty sometimes. Worth watching over and over again. September 1, 2008

2nd Generation Algerian immigrants in France in search of the their roots

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. December 18, 2007

A Road Movie to Algiers

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. October 16, 2006

Gatlif's trek to Algeria

Tony Gatlif thumps a shot of adrenaline into the tired arm of the road movie with this terrific music-heavy film about two Parisians of Algerian parentage who decide on a whim to hitch to their birthplace. Gatlif won the Best Director prize at Cannes for this. The male lead, Romain Duris, was in the director's earlier "Gadjo Dilo" - another fine film. The DVD transfer here is crisp and beautiful, from the always reliable folks at Home Vision. October 11, 2006

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