Far From Men

Set in Algeria, circa 1954, against a backdrop of guerilla war waged by Muslims against French colonials, David Oelhoffen's adaptation/enlargement of Albert Camus's "The Guest" manages to stretch a short story to feature length. At a time when insurgents are indiscriminately picking off French citizens, rural French schoolteacher Daru (Viggo Mortensen, who co-produced this film for iconic French studio Pathé) is assigned by the local militia with the task of taking a young Arab named Mohamed (Reda Kateb)—accused of murdering a cousin—to his trial and sentencing in the nearest sizable city. Daru wants no part of it and tries to set the stranger free. But Mohamed is determined to go through with his ordeal under French authorities, rather than face the rougher justice of his countrymen. Their reluctant journey together—shown in long, meaningful takes filmed in a harsh, foreboding landscape—reveals hidden truths in the pasts of both men and muddles the status of captor and captive. A powerful, beautifully filmed, thought-provoking drama, this is recommended. (C. Cassady)