Film 2012
The Repentant
A return home cannot erase the consequences of violence.
- Country collection
- Algeria
- Original title
- El Taaib
- Director
- Merzak Allouache
- Year
- 2012
Editorial profile. Availability on LAREINE TV has not been confirmed.
Story, without spoilers
Rachid leaves an armed Islamist group and returns from the mountains to his village. Surrendering his weapon offers a route back into civilian life, but it does not remove the memories and secrets surrounding him. His attempt to start again draws him into another difficult encounter.
Context & recognition
Presented in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2012, Merzak Allouache’s Algerian-French film received the Europa Cinemas label. It examines the uneasy distance between an official pardon and the experience of those affected by violence.
Main characters
Rachid
A former armed militant trying to return to civilian life.
