Exils

"Exils" is terrific on many levels. Beautiful composition, locations, light, cinematography, performances, and music. The story moves from one marvelous setting to another. The shot's are beautifully composed. The people are "real." I'm amazed that one of the previous reviewers is disturbed by sensuality. It seems that the characters are a bit too real for that person. I'm surprised at the number of other reviewers on this site that fail to connect with the essence of "Exils." Maybe they've never traveled on the cheap or experienced the beauty of random meetings and relying on the good will of strangers. Watch it again if you have the time.

If you have the ability to get a story from great images and great music, you might adore this movie as much as I do. If you like traveling, this is a journey into the Arabian world, and also towards the inner soul.

The plot and story are not on the surface, but there's enough, if you are able to take it... Maybe it helps if you're not too much part of the individualistic, and sometimes very empty and flat western society these French Algerians are getting away form, to find their roots...

An auditive and visual pleasure, a sexy and messed up trip to who they are, and were they wanna be... And it's a great pleasure to get there with them!

This movie is a bit weird, but it's a nice multicultural experience though. It's about a man and a woman which are French but have Algerian routs that go on a journey (on a walk trip!) to find out these routs in Alger. They cross the south of Spain and meet many people, from Arabs to Gypsy. This film is very interesting from the cultural point of view, but is a bit weird sometimes, because we don't know anything about these characters, who are they, where they came from. Just during the trip we start finding out something about them, but even so many questions still open after the movie ends. It's an artsy movie, that's for sure, with a great cultural and musical impact, but it gets a bit strange and boring at parts. The plot could have been better, but I'll score it 7/10 because of the great soundtrack (which has Flamenco, Arab and Electro/Techno music), the very weird tribal-ritual scene (near the end), and also the artsy cinematography.

Exils (2004) (Exiles) was written, produced, and directed by Tony Gatlif. I saw this film at the 2005 Cinefranco Film Festival in Toronto. (www.cinefranco.com)

This movie is a odyssey of sorts. Both Zano, played by Romain Duris, and Naima (Lubna Azabal) live in France, but have ties that draw them back to Algeria. The film follows their slow but determined trip southward.

Since they are traveling without funds--or even a map--they naturally need help from others along the way. These interactions with the people they meet on the road are fascinating. The two characters are not exactly role models for today's youth, but you have to admire their tenacity and their unwillingness to turn back.

Not a masterpiece, but an interesting movie that's worth seeking out.

Beautifully-filmed road movie with long musical sequences. The tale of two losers that hit the road to reach Algeria from Paris is peppered with vibrant musical interludes that echo their journey back to their roots, from nose-bleed techno, through passionate flamenco to raw Algerian trance. Once they get there, Gatlif loses his hand a little by not concluding the story. Naima is portrayed as a loose cannon throughout the movie, with hints to her past and a huge question mark over her future. Neither of these is I think is answered conclusively. On a sidenote, is this not one of the most explosive women on screen since "Betty Blue"?

But a pretty entertaining tale very well played by the two lead actors, Lubna Azabal and Romain Duris.