Malek Bensmaïl's new film
L'Arabe, the first fiction film by Malek Bensmaïl, continues his exploration of the intertwined memories of France and Algeria after the war of independence. This theme has been a focus of his earlier documentaries, including La chine est encore loin and La bataille d'Alger: un film dans l'histoire.Inspired by a novel
The film is freely inspired by the novel Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud, published in 2013. This novel attempts to give a name to "the Arab," a character killed by Meursault, the protagonist of Albert Camus's famous novel L'Étranger.A question of identity
Bensmaïl questions whether Camus considered the quasi-political act of leaving this Arab, killed by his main character, without a name. He suggests that by doing so, Camus was not simply trying to restore the identity of this individual but the entire identity of a colonized people to this day.Setting and characters
In the Algeria of the years of lead, a dark decade marked by political repression, Kamel, a young journalist, seeks to uncover a buried voice. In Oran, he meets Haroun, a solitary retiree, who tells him a startling story: he would be the brother of "the Arab" killed in Albert Camus's L'Étranger. This Arab, whose erased name was Moussa, becomes the starting point for a re-reading of history, between colonial memory, family silences, and political violence.Fiction and reality
Bensmaïl plays with the devices of both fiction and reality, intending through his cinematic narrative to question the representation of "the Arab" in a world in crisis. He remains true to his commitment to a cinema that is both political, poetic, and deeply human.Post-colonial context
The film conveniently echoes the new release in Paris theaters of Octobre by Jacques Panijel and brings a new reflection to post-colonial debates notably carried by the LDH. The film is scheduled for release and can be viewed on its website. A film by Malek Bensmaïl. Distribution: Les Films des deux rives. Duration: 1h 46min.
