Exiles

Tony Gatlif's acclaimed film follows a young Parisian couple, Zano (Romain Duris) and Naima (Lubna Azabal), who decide to travel to their ancestral homeland in Algeria. Not having adequate funds to finance this trip, the pair opts to journey on the cheap and they head across France and Spain by train, bus, hitchhiking, and walking before sailing across the Mediterranean. Not surprisingly, this extended road trip brings out both the best and worst in the couple (not to mention the many people they encounter), and ends, incredibly, in a musical number, when Zano and Naima participate in a Sufi ritual dance that spins them into a deeper connection with a heritage nearly lost in Paris. Duris and Azabal bring a stunning emotional depth to their characters, and special kudos go to composer Delphine Mantoulet's invigorating and inventive score. In Exiles, Gatlif—who won the Best Director Award at Cannes—has created an original and entertaining film that explores self-discovery in Western Europe, which is uneasily reinventing itself as a multicultural landscape. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)