The beauty of foreign-language films like filmmaker Merzak Allouache’s Madame Courage is being ‘safely’ transported to another location and lifestyle often alien to our own. This is the case here, part-set in Algiers’ beach shanty towns. It’s not the best film, but its social significance and insight in local class structure overrides some of its more basic production elements. It’s also a film punctuated by prolonged moments of shocking violence that appear somewhat distasteful, but may be unavoidable in relaying the realism of the street culture it’s portraying.
Omar (newcomer Adlane Djemil) spends his days parking up his scooter in downtown Algiers and going out to rob people of their gold and belongings to fund his Artane pill – ‘Madame Courage’ – addiction. After robbing student Selma (another newcomer, Lamia Bezoiui) of her late mother’s necklace while walking with friends, her innocent gaze unnerves him and he begins a fixation with her, anxious to get a glimpse of her by keeping vigil outside her home. However, his presence does not go unnoticed by her older brother, while other family issues plague a ‘high’ Omar.
Allouache sets his bustling town scene with a flurry of build-up to the opening snatch of Selma’s necklace. However, immediately after the robbery happens, elements of the editing – or perhaps the direction – feel ‘disassembled’, making the status quo quite disjoined when it’s vital to establish the birth of Omar’s Selma infatuation. This does get lost in translation. It could also be the inexperience of Allouache’s actors, especially Bezoiui who does not convincingly convey Selma’s pain at her unpleasant encounter.
That said Djemil has a fascinating physical presence, a scowl and piercing look that more than make up for any acting shortfalls in his debut. As the film progresses, Djemil does grow in ability, having difficult scenes of rage to enact at the treatment of Omar’s sister – a catalyst for his character’s own unravelling. Djemil does deserve credit rather than criticism too, as he does have the demanding task of carrying the plot.
Allouache sets to shock with prolonged force, it seems, causing most to turn away from the gratuitous nature of some of his violent scenes – the worst being witness to Omar’s sister’s encounter with her employer. Although the concept is to represent how those who hold power abuse Omar and his slum neighbourhood, the length of the abuse is questionable in this particular scene, and so brutal it feels so perverse in relation to the rest of the film’s moments of violence, like the street robbery.
Madame Courage is incoherent as a project, though its local social commentary is vital and it provides a springboard for its young stars’ careers, particularly for Djemil as an exciting find. Just where is sits for an international audience outside of the festivals circuit is questionable, though you feel educated by its themes and events.
