‘The Rif Lover’ by Narjiss Nejjar

The film is based on Noufissa Sbaï’s novel with the same name in French. Narjiss Nejjar continues her mother aim and moves it from fiction to cinema contributing alongside her mother in the liberation movement of women from the cultural restriction and boundaries.

The film tells the story of a young and beautiful woman Aya (Nadia Kounda) who refused to give up her dreams against family orders and social norms. Aya longs to live a passionate love, yet she is confronted by a restricting reality and betrayed by her own kin.

Aya lives with her mother (Nadia Niazi) and two brothers Ahed (Fahd Benchemsi) and Hafid (Lotfi Omar) while her never-seen father is working in Spain as fisherman. To support the family the brothers work for a hashish trafficker, and, to gain more from the Baron, Ahed gives up his sister as an offering to the Baron to receive land instead. This action sets off turmoil between Hafid who objects his brother move and reminds him that honor is priceless.

Aya’s fantasized world that she shared with her best friend Radia (Ouidad Elma) collapses after she lost her virginity. Radia gets jealous of her friend and steal the barons money, and when he tries punish her, she attempts to suicide. The baron flees the country while Aya is indicted of trying to kill her friend.

The prison experience seems for Aya a more freer than the family house and despite her mother’s attempts to marry her, she refuses to give up her wishes and chooses to end her life because life for her is only what she dreamt of and desired for.

In this film, Narjiss Nejjar maintains her loyalty to her cause that she raises in almost all her movies which is women liberation from the patriarchal society that crashes women under a siege of restricting codes.

Director: Narjiss Nejjar

Cast: Nadia Kounda, Mourade Zeguendi, Ouidad Elma, Nadia Niazi, Fehd Benchemsi, Omar Lotfi 

Released: 2011                                                                                        

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‘Days of glory’ by Rachid Bouchareb

‘Days of glory’ is a war movie about the North-Africans who are recruited to liberate France from the Germen’s occupation. The name of the film is translated ironically in English-speaking world as ‘Days of Glory’ while in reality it is ‘Indigenes’ which means natives. The film highlights the unfair treatment to those African soldiers and how they were used, exploited and segregated.

The film starts with the recruitment of the Arab soldiers especially in Morocco and Algeria 1943 though the both countries are being colonized by France. The African troops contributed in the invasion of Italy and the liberation of mainland France.

Said (Jamal Debbouze), Messaoud (Roschd yem) , Yassir (Samy Naceri) and Corporal Abdelkader are all African recruits that choose to fight for France with different reasons per each of them. The troops meet Sergeant Martinez who trains them before leading them to their first mission. The troops are used as a fire shield as they are sent to defend a heavily defended mountain from the German. Even if they succeed to capture the mountain, the mission results a high casualties among the colonial troops.

The troops are transported via ships to France so as to defend the south of France. While abroad the ship, a French cook refuses to give a black soldiers tomatoes; and Abdelkader protests and calls for equality since all the soldiers are defending the same country.  When they arrive at Marseille, the troop are welcomed warmly; and Messaoud falls in love with a white French women called Irene who promises to wait for him. After that, Irene never knew the fate of Messaoud due to military censorship of litters between Arab soldiers and French women.

Abdelkader is reprimanded by the Colonel for his mutiny; and Colonel asks him to take ammunition to American soldiers in Alsace and promises him good rewards and recognition. Most of the troop are killed except Martinez  who injured badly in a bomb trap. Said, Yassir and Messaoud want to go back after they lost most of the ammunition, but Abdelkader rallied them to go on in their mission which will accomplish their purposes if they succeed. A German troop attack them and Abdelkader watches his friends dying one after the other; then, the French back up troops arrive.

Abdelkader tries to talk to the Colonel , the latter ignores him and a Sergeant ordered Abdalkader to follow the troops.

The film ends with a statement which said that the pension of serviceman from the former colonies is frozen and they stopped to receive it since 1959.

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