Salah Teskouk Movies
- 2006
This short film from director Gurinder Chadha observes a gentle and delicate cross-cultural affections that blossom between a French boy and a Muslim immigrant girl. It served as the filmmaker's contribution to Paris, Je T'Aime, a star-studded collection of short films set in the City of Lights. Quais de Seine stars Leila Bekhti and Cyril Descours. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leila Bekhti, Cyril Descours, (more)
- 1996
This is a French language comedy set among the Algerian immigrant population of France. For political reasons, Algeria was one of France's most important colonies. French governments and even French constitutions rose and fell on the basis of plans to deal with various "Algerian crises." Hence, African-descended Algerian immigrants living in France form an important and politically controversial group within French society. Though a large number of earlier films have dealt with the difficult lives of these people, this is one of the first to take a lighter look at the lives of this unpopular group. Malik (Samir Guesmi) is a youngish immigrant who, for no reason that is clear, is given one wish by a genie-type character who rises up out of the bathtub drain while Malik is bathing. He is not allowed his wish of emigrating to Canada, but instead is given two girls at once. From this one wish, his troubles multiply. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samir Guesmi, Christophe Lopes-Torres, (more)
- 1995
For 30 years the title eatery has delighted its customers with good family style French cooking, but as with many good things, its time has come and it must close. This semi-autobiographical French drama, adapted from screenwriter/director Laurent Benegui's novel, chronicles the final meal served to 15 loyal patrons on closing day. Amidst affectionate humor and occasional pathos, much attention is paid to the conversations, personal situations, and emotions of the diners and the staff. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stéphane Audran, Michel Aumont, (more)
- 1995
This episodic French comedy chronicles 10 minutes in the lives of seven people living in the same apartment block. The stories are set in early May at 7:50 p.m., ten minutes before the name of the new president of France is to be announced on television. The episodes are all presented in real time and as they progress, they eventually come together and give the viewer a complete picture of all that is happening in that single building. Within are scenes of a Mideast wedding that disintegrates into a brawl, an unemployed executive who cracks under stress and accidentally shoots his wife, and a pretty nurse who makes bold sexual advances to her biker-neighbor after she goes to borrow a cup of flour. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrée Damant, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
- 1995
A young French immigrant from the Middle-East struggles to grow up in the housing projects surrounding Paris in this drama. The young woman faces many obstacles. Though she is in her twenties, Mimouna is forced to live with her domineering father and his traditionally submissive wife. Her younger siblings have eschewed Algerian traditions, and so does Mimouna, but only to a point, for she can also see the value of keeping her cultural heritage alive. Whether or not she chooses to live a traditional Algerian existence or that of the modern Western woman, Mimouna realizes that her gender restricts her opportunities in life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zarha Benaissa, Salah Teskouk, (more)
- 1986
Two teenage lovers are caught up in the thrill of forbidden love in this tragic romantic drama. Pierre (Jean-Pierre Andre) is a 16-year-old French lad who loves 14-year-old Djemila (Nadja Reski), the offspring of Algerian immigrants. Pierre's father is an Algerian war veteran who tolerates living with the immigrants at the low-income housing project as long as the two factions are separated. Djemila's older brother carries bitter hatred for the French over their invasion of Algeria. Both young lovers fall victim to the intolerance of their families when their relatives discover that the two are engaged in a passionate love affair. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre André
- 1984
In spite of spending three hours developing the story of French peasant Charles Saganne (Gérard Depardieu), the sweep of this epic skims over the qualities that transformed Saganne from an ordinary officer to a great military leader. Saganne was first sent to a garrison town in North Africa before Colonel Dubreuilh (Philippe Noiret) assigned him to other missions, finally giving him a chance to exercise his innate ability to lead men. After a tragic hiatus in Paris where he fails to promote the colonialist cause, he returns to the Sahara and outshines his past accomplishments, leading a ragtag band of Arab dissidents in some brilliant military maneuvers -- for which he won the French Legion of Honor. His newfound recognition also attracted a society maven who became his wife, and after his tour of duty has ended Saganne moves with her to the village where he was born. But the year is 1914 and Saganne's peaceful village idyll was not meant to endure -- he is again called off to war, and to his destiny. Even though the costuming, landscape, battles, and charisma of Depardieu as Saganne and Noiret as Colonel Dubreuilh are outstanding, and several subsidiary characters deliver emotionally compelling vignettes, the protagonists as an ensemble have not been scripted with much depth of character -- making the three-hour epic seem a bit too long in the end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, (more)
