Sami Bouajila Movies

As helmed by Laurent Tuel, this visceral French crime saga follows the doings of the Malakian clan, a family of mobsters who rule the criminal underground with an iron fist. Spearheading it all is don Milo Malakian (Jean Reno); poised to assume control after Milo retires is his son, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel). Anton longs to break free and build his own life, but to do so, he must bring down his father's nemesis via one final heist job that will prove Anton's mettle once and for all. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The early days of the AIDS crisis in France provides the backdrop for this powerful, life-affirming drama from writer and director André Téchiné. It's 1984, and Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) is a police detective who, unbeknownst to his wife Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart), is a bisexual who has occasional trysts with men. Mehdi and Sarah are proud parents of a new baby, but to Mehdi's chagrin, Sarah doesn't seem the least bit concerned about her responsibilities as a mom. Manu (Johan Libereau) is a handsome young man who shares a flat with his sister Julie (Julie Depardieu), who is struggling to make a career as an opera singer. And Adrien (Michel Blanc) is a middle-aged doctor and close friend of Sarah who occasionally picks up younger men in the park, and nearly seduces Manu one evening. Adrien joins Sarah and Mehdi for an idyllic weekend at the beach, where Manu once again crosses his path; however, Manu also meets Mehdi when he saves the detective from drowning, and the two soon become lovers. Several months later, Manu has discovered he's contracted a strange and deadly new disease doctors are calling AIDS, which has a dramatic impact on many of the people he knows. Mehdi has confessed his infidelity to Sarah, and they wait to find out if they also have AIDS, while Adrien is devoting most of his days to treating Manu and other young men who are wasting away under the effects of the illness, and Julie helps to care for her dying brother. The Witnesses (aka Les Témoins) received its premiere at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Rachid Bouchareb teams with screenwriter Olivier Morelle to offer a revealing look at the brave contributions made by North African soldiers who fought for France during World War II in this emotionally-charged war drama starring Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila, and Bernard Blancan. The year was 1943 and France had been bending to the will of Nazi Germany for three long years. In order to break Hitler's powerful grip, the first French Army was recruited in Africa. Comprised of 130,000 North Africans who were willing to put their lives on the line in order to defeat the Nazi death machine, the fearless fighters were contemptuously dubbed indigènes (natives) by many French, despite their remarkable sacrifice. From the noble Abdelkader (Bouajila), who is fighting strictly for the cause; to the money motivated Yassir (Naceri); the impoverished Saïd (Debbouze); and die-hard romantic Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), who longs to finally visit the country he has dreamt about from afar, the selfless efforts of these remarkable men ultimately transcend their superiors' contemptuous disregard for their service by providing invaluable aid during one of the world's darkest hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed by Florent E. Siri, Nid De Guepes chronicles the unlikey cooperation between a band of thieves and an elite group of judicial escorts. As several characters prepare for their various missions on Bastille Day, an unapologetic Albanian mobster (Angelo Infanti) is being flown in to stand trial. Despite extensive security, Nexhep's (Infanti) armed flunkies stage a violent diversion, and the escorts end up in the same warehouse where some young criminals are attempting to steal truckloads of expensive computers. Though the group of thieves are initially suspicious of the new visitors, they must quickly combine their efforts to stay alive amongst the Albanian mafia's dogged and potentially deadly determination to find their captured leader. Nid De Guepes also features Damy Naceri, Benoit Magimel, Nadia Fares, Pascal Greggory, and Sami Bouajila.
~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Friendship turns to love, and unrequited love leads to a dangerous obsession in this moody drama. Nathalie (Emmanuelle Beart) and Louise (Pascale Bussieres) grew up together and had been close friends since childhood, but while both were studying drama in their early twenties, their friendship went through an abrupt shift -- while beautiful Nathalie enjoyed flirting with the men in her classes, Louise's interest in her best friend turned into infatuation, and when Nathalie indulged herself in a brief fling with a young actor, Louise was overcome with anger and jealousy and tried to kill herself. Nathalie was told by Louise's family that she didn't want to see her any more, and a decade passed before their paths would cross again. Louise is now married to a man named Nicolas (Sami Bouajila), and one night they go to the theater to see a touring production of a new play. To her surprise, Louise discovers the female lead is played by Nathalie; after the show, she slips backstage to say hello, and soon finds that she's as strongly attracted to Nathalie as ever -- and that Nathalie is involved with Matthias (Dani Levy), the gifted but difficult playwright who wrote and directed the production. Leaving Nicolas behind, Louise follows Nathalie to Denmark, and is able to pull a few strings to get Nathalie an audition with Walter Amar (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), a well-known and well-respected theatrical director. Nathalie soon leaves Matthias' show to star in Amar's new production of Lulu, and Louise volunteers to help Nathalie as she prepares for the role. Nathalie appreciates Louise's support and friendship, but she soon begins to chafe under Louise's obsessive attention, and she wonders if history might be repeating itself. La Repetition was shown in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, with writer and director Catherine Corsini earning a nomination for the coveted Golden Palm award. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The 400 Blows meets Rear Window in this low-key French thriller directed by Olivier Jahan. Suffering because of the death of his father and the emotional distance of his mother, high-school student Eric (Jeremie Renier) kills time by obsessively spying on his neighbors. Compulsively taking notes on everything within binocular range from his bedroom window, he harasses his neighbors by sending unsigned notes and making their private affairs public. The tables turn when one of his prey, a young couple, Tom (Sami Bouajila) and Fabienne (Alexia Stresi), figure out the identity of their anonymous tormentor. Meanwhile, Eric is slowly driving his mother and stepfather crazy with his weird, insular activity, and he can't stand his sister Carol's (Natalie Richard) newfound happiness with her beau Simon (Pierre Berriau). This look into the mind of a future serial killer was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this zany French comedy, a writer chooses the day he and his family are to move out into the country to quit his publishing job and take a lucrative position writing for a television sitcom. On this day, everything possible goes haywire, beginning with the early arrival of the four Romanian illegal aliens Alain hired to do the moving. He is at his old job cleaning out his desk when his wife calls with the bad news that the movers have arrived four hours early. Shortly thereafter a fight breaks out amongst the Romanians and they leave Alain high and dry. Alain then beseeches his friends to help him pack and move furniture. Unfortunately, his good buddies don't provide as much assistance as he needs. Alain's day goes from bad to worse when he is called in for an emergency story meeting with his new boss at the network. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French drama, the French-born son of North African immigrants attempts to cope with his guilt after he accidentally causes a family tragedy. The tale begins as 25-year old Ismael and his teenage brother Mouloud drive into Marseille where they plan on visiting relatives before heading back to their native North African country to join their parents. Both young men consider themselves French rather than North African, and Mouloud has vowed that he will not go back to the desert. Their colorful relatives, most particularly their iron-willed aunt, help teach the fellows important lessons about life and the nature of friendship and self-accountability. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In France in 1452, the dark superstition of the Medieval era was beginning to give way to the more enlightened attitudes of the Renaissance. But the changes were slow in coming, as Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) learns when he moves to the country village of Abbeville, owned and ruled by the Seigneur (Nicol Williamson). Courtois is a lawyer, or an "advocate" as they were called in those days, and the Seigneur has hired him to act as a public defender for those who cannot provide their own legal counsel. One odd remnant of the dark ages that Abbeville has not purged from its legal system is the practice of prosecuting animals as well as humans for crimes; as Courtois arrives, he nearly witnesses the execution of both a man and a donkey who were found guilty of bestiality (the donkey was spared at the last minute because it could not be proved that she consented to the act). So Courtois is not exactly surprised when one of his first cases finds him defending a pig against charges of murdering a small child. Courtois soon discovers that the pig belongs to Samira (Amina Annabi), a beautiful gypsy woman he finds himself falling in love with. Losing the pig would mean losing many meals down the road, so to win Samira's good tidings, Courtois must prove the pig innocent -- which means finding the real killer. However, since the Seigneur is eager to see Courtois (or anyone, for that matter) marry his daughter Filette (Lysette Anthony), his affection for Samira may not be good for his future employment prospects. This period comedy/drama also features Donald Pleasance, Ian Holm, and Michael Gough. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi