L’Autre côté de la mer (1997) - film review

Georges Montero, a French-born Algerian, travels to Paris to have a cataract operation.  He makes the most of his stay in France to renew his acquaintance with family members and friends who have fled Algeria since the war of independence.  He soon finds himself torn between returning to his beloved Algeria or starting a new life in France.  Whilst his friends resort to devious methods to persuade him to stay in France, Georges develops a friendship with his eye doctor, Tarek, an assimilated Arab who has lost contact with his own ethnic background.   Though their circumstances are very different, the two men both come to realise the importance of their cultural identity...

In her first full-length film, Dominique Cabrera conveys some sense of the conflict and trauma which emigrants must surely experience when they leave their homeland to settle in another country.  Herself an Algerian, Cabrera has a natural empathy with her film’s subject which allows her to give the film a sense of authenticity and relevance.  Cabrera’s previous film-making experience was in making documentaries and this is apparent throughout the film, which often has a very raw documentary feel.  She is also well-served by her top-notch lead actors, Claude Brasseur and Roschdy Zem, who each brings a credible personal perspective to their characters.

Although the film is a worthy effort, which does makes some valid statements about the strength of family ties and the need for racial identity, Cabrera’s inexperience as a filmmaker is however quite apparent.   From the start, the film fails to establish its characters strongly enough for the audience to sympathise with them, and much of the film is painfully without focus.  Despite Brasseur’s commendable performance, it is hard for a spectator (particularly one of non-Algerian origin) to make much sense of his character’s journey of self-discovery.

Although watching this film is an uncomfortable and largely unrewarding experience, you do still get the impression that Dominique Cabrera has the courage and potential to make some important, socially relevant works.

© James Travers 2003

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