Algeria 1954 and the fight for independence from France is the background. But this is an adaptation of the Camus short story The Guest – cultural dislocation, existentialism and the moral imperative is the true concern.
Viggo Mortensen is compelling as Daru, a man confronted with, for him, a no-win situation. The only teacher in a remote school in the rugged mountain terrain of the Atlas Mountains, he is forced to deliver a local man, charged with murder, to the garrison in a nearby town. Whatever his actions, Daru will never be able to return to his previous life.
A stunning soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis complements the mens’ journey and accompanying complex moral dilemmas.
Rating: 81%
Director: David Oelhoffen (Nos retrouvailles, En mon absence)
Writer: David Oelhoffen (Nos retrouvailles, SK1) – adapted from the Albert Camus short story
Main cast: Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, The History of Violence), Reda Kateb (Zero Dark Thirty, A Prophet), Nicolas Giraud (Mozart’s Sister, A Butterfly Kiss)
An Opinion or Two 