the faithful and touching image of a fractured Algerian society in a dramatic comedy

Can we talk about a country that we left more than 35 years ago? Illustrious El Ciudadano by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn already asked this question at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. honorary citizenMohamed Hamidi, to whom we owe The cow, re-adapts the Argentinian scenario to cook it with Franco-Algerian sauce. In this remake, Samir Amin, a French writer of Algerian origin, has just received the Nobel Prize for Literature for his latest novel.

As with his previous books, Samir Amin was inspired by his native village Sidi Mimoun and its inhabitants. The Nobel-winning novelist, lacking inspiration and on the verge of depression, is invited to the four corners of the world for conferences and other social events, but declines all invitations. Even that of Sidi Mimoun who wishes to distinguish him as an honorary citizen and erect a statue in his honor. “You owe them that.”, insists his son who ends up convincing his father to return to Algeria, a country in which he swore to himself 35 years earlier never to set foot again. Samir Amin will then reconnect with his past, and find those he had left behind.

Those who have lost their bearings in a village they haven’t visited for more than 30 years are guided by Miloud, a childhood friend who became a town hall employee who swears he has read all of the famous author’s books. A devoted servant invested with a mission, Miloud takes great care. As usual, the clownish game of Fatsah Bouyahmed, already present in The cow, radiates. Faced with this touching although invading character with large glasses, the taciturn Samir Amin will gradually reveal himself and give birth to a friendship full of respect.

Welcomed like the Messiah by the inhabitants of the Village, proud to see a child of their land rewarded with a Nobel Prize, the character played by Kad Merad will not only come across fans. Like Mokthar, this villainous son of a winegrower who demands accountability after the author is inspired by the story of his father in one of his books. Or Hamid Mezouar, played by Zinedine Soualem, a notable who ends up turning his back on the writer when he sees that the latter does not want to be involved in corruption.

Like the rest of Mohamed Hamidi’s filmography, honorary citizen is a fable that depicts characters shared between a double identity. A recurring theme found in born somewhere, The cow or So far, so good. “I let myself be carried away by the subject and the message and it was quite easy for me to transport myself into this character because, deep down, this man is a bit like me. Someone who has a strong bond with his country but who has not returned there”, confides Kad Merad, who plays one of his best roles there. Besides, the deep lyrics of the song El Rayahby Dahmane El Harrachi taken over by Rachid Taha, which resonate in the film take on all their meaning.

If the filmmaker frontally attacks politicians, corruption and the weight of religion that weighs on citizens, he also leaves room for hope, carried by committed youth. Because although shot in Morocco for practical and political reasons, honorary citizen takes place during the demonstrations of Hirak in Algeria, a popular movement born against the fifth candidacy of Abdelaziz Bouteflika for the presidency.

A commitment embodied by the sparkling Oulaya Amamra who embodies a rapper with sharp lyrics or even Brahim Bouhlel, a young receptionist whose pen will hold the attention of Samir Amin. honorary citizen is a touching and sensitive dramatic comedy, which offers a faithful and fair image of Algerian society in all its complexity and richness, elegantly rhythmic by the notes of Ibrahim Maalouf.

Gender : Comedy, Drama
Director: mohamed hamidi
Duration : 1h36
Distributer : Apollo Movies
Exit : 14 September 2022

Summary: Samir Amin is a fulfilled writer, Nobel Prize for Literature, who lives in Paris, far from his native country, Algeria. He systematically refuses all the invitations made to him. Until the day he decides to accept being made “Honorary Citizen” of Sidi Mimoun, the small town where he was born. But is it really a good idea to see the inhabitants of this city again, who have become, year after year, the characters of his various novels?