Roschdy Zem Movies

An Algerian family struggles for freedom in this lavish historical drama from filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb. Opening with a preface in which French colonists force an Algerian family from their home in 1925, the film jumps forward to 1945, as Allied forces announce their victory in Europe. The news coincides with a demonstration in Setif, in which Algerians demand their independence from France. Said (Jamel Debbouze) is more interested in boxing than politics, but when his father is killed and his brother Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila) is arrested by French troops during the protest, his attitude begins to change. In 1953, Said makes a living running a bar and looking after a handful of prostitutes, much to the chagrin of his mother, and his brother Messaoud (Roschdy Zem) returns home from a hitch in the army, where he fought for France in Indochina. Messaoud decides to put his military training to use by joining Abdelkader in a rebel group, the National Liberation Front, to drive the French out of Algeria. French military officer Colonel Faivre (Bernard Blancan) refuses to deal with the NLF, and assembles a secret battalion to counter their actions, leading to bloody conflicts in the streets. Hors-la-Loi (aka Outside the Law) was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where screenings were picketed by right-wing groups who objected to the film's anti-colonial message. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two couples discover how hard it is to set boundaries in an open relationship in this drama from writer and director Antony Cordier. Vincent (Nicolas Duvauchelle) is a web designer who is hired to create a new Internet presence for Rachel (Marina Fois), who sells jewelry and wants to promote her business. While Vincent and Rachel talk business at first, they find they're immediately attracted to one another, and when they set up a dinner so they can meet their respective spouses -- Teri (Elodie Bouchez), who before marrying Vincent was a champion gymnast, and Franck (Roschdy Zem), an interior designer specializing in feng shui -- Teri and Franck discover they feel passion for one another as well. The two couples quickly begin swapping partners, and at first everyone is happy with the new arrangement, but before long the couples feel they need to establish ground rules for their marital and extramarital partnerships. Codifying their relationships, however, unexpectedly brings jealousy and possessive feelings into the picture for the first time. Four Lovers (aka Happy Few) was an official selection at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It marked a sickening and devastating second act to 9/11: On July 7, 2005, a series of bombs set by terrorists exploded on the London subways. Over 700 people were severely injured, and 56 people killed; authorities later discovered a videotape from one of the jihadists, declaring his sect at war with Great Britain. Rachid Bouchareb's drama London River puts a human face on this tragic event via the fictional stories of two people whose lives are turned inside out by the cataclysm. Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) is a Muslim living in France, while Mrs. Sommers (Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn) is a Christian war widow living on the British Channel Isles. Though unacquainted, and with different religious backgrounds, these strangers find themselves united in the city of London and linked by a shared tragedy: Each has lost touch with a child amid the attacks -- Mrs. Sommers, a daughter named Jane, and Ousmane, a son named Ali -- and it just so happens that the two were dating. Together, the pair begin combing the city and searching for their loved ones, bound by the hope that both children survived. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Recalling such prior efforts as Maurice Pialat's 1984 Police and Bob Swaim's 1982 La Balance, Gallic director Olivier van Hoofstadt's relentlessly tense and violent action thriller Go Fast plunges into the violent and dangerous world of French metropolitan police. Roschdy Zem stars as Marek, a cop involved in a risky sting operation against a drug trafficking ring. In the process, his best friend and partner dies, which prompts his transfer to an undercover division of the force. He soon learns that his new mission will involve infiltrating a gang involved in smuggling cannabis from southern Spain to small-town France. ~ Nathan Southern, 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

A young, inexperienced detective is inducted into an elite Paris plainclothes unit in Le Petit Lieutenant, directed by Xavier Beauvois (Don't Forget You're Going to Die). Antoine (Jalil Lespert or Human Resources) is as gung-ho as they come, and eager to learn everything he needs to know to be a good cop, although he misses his wife (Bérangère Allaux), a schoolteacher who stayed behind in the country when Antoine took his new job. Antoine socializes with his new comrades, who seem to drink an awful lot, with the exception of the unit commander, Caroline (Nathalie Baye), an alcoholic who has just returned from a long stint on desk duty. The other experienced detectives that Antoine looks up to are the cynical Louis (Antoine Chappey), and the stalwart Solo (Roschdy Zem), who in addition to the rigors of the job faces bigotry due to his Moroccan origin. When a Polish immigrant is found murdered in a canal near the station, the unit begins a methodical investigation, eventually learning that the victim was last seen with a couple of Russians. When a second victim is rescued from the waters of the canal a few days later, the case takes on a new urgency. As Antoine tries to fit in and learn on the job, Caroline struggles with her addiction and forms an almost maternal bond with the rookie. Le Petit Lieutenant also features Jacques Perrin, and was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their 2006 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Euro screen legends Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil star, respectively, as French cops Denis Klein and Leo Vrinks, in Olivier Marchal's tough-as-steel policier 36 Quai des Orfevres. The story unravels at the titular Parisian police headquarters, where Klein (who heads up the department's anti-crime unit) and Vrinks (who manages the "search and action squad") go head-to-head -- competing with one another not only to succeed their boss, but to be the first to solve an ongoing series of security-van robberies. Ultimately, the men resort to sabotaging one another, and thus set the stage for an ongoing series of twists, turns, reversals, and betrayals. Valeria Golino and Catherine Marchal co-star; Olivier Marchal co-authored the script with Dominique Loiseau, Julien Rappeneau, and Franck Mancuso. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The comedy Chouchou has a cross-dressing gay immigrant as a main character. Chouchou (Gad Elmaleh) arrives illegally in Paris, where he finds a home thanks to a pair of kindly priests. He eventually finds work with a parishioner who allows him to clean her house while dressed in women's clothing. Soon Chouchou is working at night at a local club where he falls for Stainslas (Alain Chabat), who introduces Chouchou to his parents. Chouchou's illegal residency may be the hurdle that the couple cannot clear on their way to happiness. The film was adapted from a one-man play originally written and performed by Elmaleh. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In writer/director/composer/cinematographer Siegfried's handheld whirlwind of a movie Sansa, the title character is an ethnically ambiguous street hustler played by Roschdy Zem. Sansa travels the globe, hawking and bartering on the street, selling tourists sketches of themselves and consistently running afoul of police, airport security, and military personnel, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for beautiful women. When Sansa sees an attractive woman, he has a tendency to follow her wherever he goes, and as he travels from country to country, covering France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Russia, India, Japan, Egypt, Portugal, and Ghana, this pattern pretty much stays the same. At some point during a particularly heated pursuit, he inadvertently steps onto the stage where a ballet is being rehearsed. The elderly orchestra conductor, an internationally renowned musician named Click (Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis), chides him for interrupting the rehearsal, but later invites him to a café. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, based in part on their shared admiration for beautiful young women. Thereafter, Sansa seems to run into Click wherever he goes. In Italy, Sansa chats up Valentina (Valentina Cervi) until her boyfriend shows up and chases him off. In Spain, he interrupts a woman's (Emma Suarez) boardroom business presentation to sweet-talk her. In Japan, he meets an old friend, June (Ayako Fujitani), who laments his inevitable departure. In Russia, he gets caught in a crossfire between soldiers and Chechen rebels. Sansa was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of its 2004 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema series. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A young woman bent on revenge becomes a legendary thief in the vein of Robin Hood in director Bernie Bonvoisin's 2002 comic swashbuckler Blanche. When she was 14, young Blanche de Perrone's family was massacred by the Cardinal Mazarin's (Jean Rochefort) right-hand man, Captain KKK (Antoine de Caunes), after her businessman father suspected the cleric of great evildoing. The lone survivor of the murder, Blanche vowed vengeance and eventually became a greatly feared robber of stagecoaches. Meanwhile, Mazarin has begun to set up his own little drug dealing operation without rousing the suspicion of the sexually-kinky reigning monarchs King Louis XIV (Jose Garcia) and Queen Anne of Austria (Carole Bouquet). As Blanche (Lou Doillon) begins to put into motion her plan to bring down Mazarin, she unexpectedly falls in love with royal spy Bonange (Roschdy Zem), who is not totally insensitive to Blanche's quest. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Two people brought together by fate find it's not easy to live on love in this drama with a sharp sociopolitical subtext. Agatha (Rona Hartner) is a beautiful young woman from Romania who had a brief but passionate love affair with a French surgeon when he visited her country as part of a charitable medical team. Agatha has decided to come to France to rekindle their romance, but when she arrives in the city of Roubaix, she discovers he didn't take their relationship nearly as seriously as she did. With nowhere to go, Agatha is befriended by Mehdi (Roschdy Zem), a cab driver who helps her find a place to stay. Mehdi is attracted to Agatha, and she returns his interest, but as it turns out Mehdi is already seeing someone -- Cecile (Karole Rocher), who is having an affair with Mehdi while involved with his close friend Marc (Pierre Berriau). Hoping to move away from Roubaix with Agatha and start a new life, Mehdi gets a job as a bill collector, while Marc impulsively walks off his job and an angry Cecile gives him his walking papers. Agatha soon discovers, however, that Roubaix offers few opportunities for undocumented aliens, and that even lifelong residents have a hard time getting by. Sauve-Moi received its North American premiere at the 2001 San Francisco Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi