Viva Laldjerie (2004)

Directed by: Nadir Moknèche | 113 minutes | drama | Actors: Lubna Azabal, Biyouna, Nadia Kaci, Jalil Naciri, Abbes Zahmani, Florence Giorgetti, Lounès Tazairt, Akim Isker, Fawzi B. Saichi, Serge Avedikian

Algeria has a turbulent history. After years of French colonization and a hard-fought independence, they had to deal with the terror of Islamic fundamentalists. In recent years, however, peace seems to have returned to the country because we don’t hear much about it anymore. Enter ‘Viva Laldjerie’. This film by director and globetrotter Nadir Moknèche tries to paint a picture of contemporary Algiers, its inhabitants and especially its women.

In ‘Viva Laldjérie’ we meet mother Papicha and daughter Gouchem. They live in a room in a hotel, where mother is weighed down by a nostalgic longing for her artistic glory days and where daughter is getting ready for her lover, a one night stand or a game of billiards. We will never know exactly how this two came to be and that is a real loss. Because of this ‘Viva Laldjérie’ sometimes resembles a serial of which you have missed the first episodes and which is therefore somewhat difficult to understand.

Both mother and daughter and neighbor Fifi are on the fringes of Algerian society. What the subculture they live in looks like gradually becomes clear in the course of the film. But how this relates to the Algerian mainstream culture remains vague, especially since the film pays little attention to the life of the ordinary Algerian. As a sketch of contemporary Algeria, this film will only suffice for viewers who are already somewhat familiar with this society; they will also be better able to estimate the position of both main characters.

A final flaw is the plot, which is divided into two storylines. The story of the mother seeking and recovering her lost childhood is both captivating and compelling. The storyline about the daughter, the prostitute and the missing gun is very weak, especially because there are quite a few unmotivated actions.

Although there are many things to complain about this production, ‘Viva Laldjérie’ did not turn out to be an unpleasant film after all. We get a glimpse into an unknown world, with nightclubs, a female visionary, beautiful and unsightly architecture and manners that are as fascinating as they are incomprehensible. It makes watching ‘Viva Laldjérie’ like a walk through a strange city, where you don’t understand much about the culture but where you can soak up the atmosphere to the fullest.