2011 3 25 Unsubtle action film shows one side of conflict Jeff Heinrich, The Gazette, March 25, 2011

Hors-la-loi (Outside the Law) Rating 3 Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila Playing in Arabic and French with English subtitles at: Cinma du Parc. Parents' guide: Violence, political terrorism. Two films about Algeria's violent relationship with France were entered into this year's Oscar race for best foreign-language film, and their different fates prove the old maxim that history is written by the victors. The first, submitted by France, failed to get a nomination. Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) is a contemplative, austere movie about a community of French monks threatened by Algeria's civil war in the 1990s. The second, submitted by Algeria, was nominated. Hors-la-loi (Outside the Law) is a blockbuster action movie about three Algerian brothers who fight for independence for their homeland as immigrants in Paris in the 1950s. Both films carried a whiff of scandal, especially in France. The fact the French one was snubbed by the Academy left many critics there nonplussed, because it was an unexpected smash hit at the box-office and was that country's official entry. The fact the Algerian one got the nod enraged rightwingers in France who saw it as an endorsement of the movie's revisionist politics, which equated Algerian "terrorists" with French resistance fighters in the Second World War. Since it opened in Quebec theatres a month ago, Des hommes et des dieux has been a big success: more than one million tickets sold. Hors-la-loi opens here today, and chances are it will attract a different audience entirely. It's not completely new to our screens; Montrealers got a sneak peek of the Algerian film last November when it played at Cinemania, the English-subtitled French movie festival. But a full theatrical run now is good timing, leaving behind the Oscar race, whose other big loser, coincidentally, was Montreal director Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, another movie set in a wartorn Arab country. Written and directed by Rachid Bouchareb (Indignes, or Days of Glory), Hors-la-loi follows the classic arc of historical melodrama: a family story driven by characters who represent their nation and its aspirations. There's Sad (Jamel Debbouze), a pugnacious hustler who winds up running a cabaret in Pigalle and organizes boxing tournaments that showcase Algerian talent.

There's Abdellader (Sami Bouajila), the intellectual radical of the family, whose stint in prison girds him for leadership of the bloody Front de libration nationale, which sows terror within France. And there's Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), who leaves Algeria to fight for the French in Indochina, is wounded and is repatriated to France, where he meets his brothers again and is dragged into the struggle. Every freedom fighter needs a target, and in this movie the forces of evil are embodied by a brutal character named Colonel Faivre (Bernard Blancan), who heads counter-terrorism in France's secret service. There are bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, attacks on police, attacks on civilians, massacres and enough firepower to please fans of other terrorist blockbusters like Carlos and The BaaderMeinhof Complex. What's lacking is any debate over whose side we should be on. Just as Quebec director Pierre Falardeau did with the FLQ in his 1994 film Octobre, Hors-la-loi sides clearly with its protagonists and that's too bad. You'd think that a movie given a big budget ($25 million) and an extended running time (138 minutes) would pay a bit more attention to subtlety. Then again, Des hommes et de dieux tried that, to just as uneven effect. Maybe the truth about Algeria and France - and the meaning of their interlinked histories - lies somewhere in between. Good reason, then, to see both movies, while they're still on our screens. jheinrich@ montrealgazette.com