Viva Laldjérie (2004) Reviews

• Young woman and her mother living in 2003 Algiers

  pickymiss2005-04-06

  The story of Goucem, a 27-year old Algerian woman, who works days at a photo shop and is involved in a long-term, dead-end affair with a doctor and her mother, played by Biyouna, who is an ex-cabaret dancer/singer and fears the Islamists after years of bloodshed and turmoil in Algeria during the 90s. Having been displaced from their home (perhaps after Goucem's father's death? or maybe as a result of the Islamists/government corruption?), she and her mother are living in a residential hotel with a mixture of people including a family with young kids and a prostitute. There are a variety of scenes of Algiers and peeks into different types of life. Goucem's life seems routine, working, dating the doctor, going to clubs meeting men and flirting with a recurring neighbor. Through sad events in the film, she discovers many things about what she really wants from life. This film contains quite a bit of nudity and swearing, my Algerian companion at the screening said because of that type of content it will PROBABLY NEVER be screened in Algeria. (HOWEVER... I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT IT HAS BEEN SHOWN IN ALGERIA... TIMES ARE CHANGING, my companion at the US screening has been here since 1989 and has only returned to Algiers once in 2002) The comparison to Almodovar (of Spain) that I read somewhere is warranted, I see the similarities. Understanding the historical underpinnings of the 90s and current day Algeria would aid in understanding, and more importantly not MIS-understanding the movie. The movie, although dark in general ends with a glimmer of hope for better times for the some of the characters, but just a glimmer.

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• Algerian cinema re-emergence

  sb_12820002005-05-17

  I just watched "Viva Laldjerie" at the Cine-Club in Algiers. The crisis of the 1990s took a heavy toll on Algerian cinema. Happily, the past couple of years have witnessed a re-emergence, of which Viva Laldjerie is an auspicious example. Set in the Algiers of today, the film tells the story of three women: Papicha, a former cabaret star who dreams of getting back into the business; her daughter, Goucem, an independent spirit working for a photographer and carrying on an affair with a married man she's beginning to suspect wants to leave her; and Fifi, a prostitute who thinks she's got it all under control now that she's found a powerful "protector." Director Moknèche's great achievement is to show how beyond the bright lights, bustling city streets and modern urban architecture there's the sense of a country, of a people, that feels spent and exhausted from the constant threat that the violence that crippled Algeria for almost a decade might once again return. Yet, as the stories of these three women show, resistance can take many forms. In response to previous comments, I am surprise of the level of ignorance of the Arab World. you can watch many different movies in Algeria. I have watched "Emmanual" in Oran The RAI music contains swearing and even blasphemous and you can hear it in chafes, bars etc..Just for your information Algeria is the first wine producer in the world after the Romans, it will help if you know a bit about the Arab culture, for example read about Abu Nawas and Al-Rubaiyat

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• I'd love to love this movie, but...

  writestuff-12005-06-29

  This is the type of film that I would love to love. The cast are remarkable - Lubna Azabal and the actress that plays her mother in particular. The subject is a complete reversal of what one would expect of Algeria. It's also a film with very strong female roles. So in theory, everything is in place to make an explosive combination. So why does it drag so much? "Viva" is curiously dispassionate, despite the best efforts of the cast. Longish midrange shots film the actor's movements, without letting us get into their heads. We understand what they are doing and why, without really becoming involved. With a firmer hand, this could have been an explosive story, à la Almodovar. As it is, I get the feeling it's a great script and cast being put through the motions. I also have to add a word about the highly distracting plinkety-plonk piano music that adds to the lethargic direction. I presume the director wanted to avoid Arabic music to avoid clichés. But puh-lease! This sounds like a low-budget auteur chamber soundtrack when what was needed was something to drive us towards the next scene.

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• Brave movie

  sergepesic2009-09-28

  The shifting of political power affects our lives more than anything else in the world. And being trapped between two ruthless forces and the shifting political powers makes it almost unbearable for characters of this touching movie. Being a women in Islamic world was always, to put it mildly, hard, but these days of increasing Islamic fundamentalism bring even more hardship. Algerian women must have it particularly hard after a long period of secularism and opportunities for carrier and fulfillment. " Viva Laldjerie" is a brave and concise movie that poses many questions. It doesn't give many answers, mostly because in the shaky times we live in, the outcome is unknown.

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• What was she thinking? (Notes from an Algerian movie)

  fablesofthereconstru-12008-03-29

  What was Goucem(Lubna Azabal) thinking? Goucem and Fifi(Nadia Kaci) probably have an open door policy, being close gal pals and all, but when Goucem steals a gun from one of Fifi's johns, her presence in Fifi's apartment becomes a matter of breaking and entering. When Fifi turns up missing, Goucem goes dancing. And when she turns up dead, "Viva Laldjerie" never makes clear if Goucem feels directly responsible for her friend's death. She's a smart girl. On some level, she must've understood that there'd be ramifications when you lift a man's gun. Goucem killed Fifi. The question remains: Was it intentional? The tears that Goucem sheds at the ID'ing of Fifi's body must be remorse, but the film is missing that moment of explicit recognition that her actions had a direct correlation with Fifi's disappearance. Does Goucem share her mother's abhorrence for hookers? That would be hypocritical on Goucem's part since she's an adulterer, and mom, an exotic dancer. In "Viva Laldjerie", Islamic fundamentalism is coming to Algeria. In the upcoming years, it's going to be harder and harder to be a woman; harder still, if you have a friend like Goucem, whose hijab(Muslim head dress) must be so tight, all the blood was drained out of her head. That hijab doesn't flatter any woman, especially Papicha(Biyouna), Goucem's mother, who transforms herself back into a sensuous woman, an incarnation of yesteryear, when she was a dancer at a night club and her hair flowed unencumbered by ideology. The tragedy of Fifi's death is the obviousness of the situation that these, and all women, face in a country whose rules were composed by men. The ladies should stick together, one for all, and all for one. But Goucem is a slave to love. Maybe she stole the gun in order to shoot her lover. Whatever the reason, Fifi is in a box.

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