“On
November 1, 1954, after 130 years
of French presence, the National
Liberation Front (FLN) launched
insurgency in Algeria. Faced with the
FLN’s resolve to negotiate
independence, France responded by
sending in 500,000 young conscripts.
In 1959, despite criticism, France
stepped up military operations in Algeria.
This is the setting for the tense and
provocative drama Intimate Enemies
(L’Ennemi Intime), which is now
available on DVD...” IT IS 1959 IN KABYLIA, ALGERIA. After an apparent mistake by Lieutenant
Constantin, a group of soldiers under his command ends up at the wrong place
for a rendezvous and comes under machine gunfire from other French troops.
Constantin is killed by friendly fire and is replaced by the highly-principled
Lieutenant Terrien (award-winning French Actor Benoît Magimel: The Piano
Teacher), who believes he can lead the battalion of French soldiers into
a civilised war that doesn't compromise his moral and humane ideals.
The cynical and battle-hardened Sergeant Dougnac (three-time César nominee Albert
Dupontel: A Very Long Engagement) is among those who criticise his approach
— and refuse to believe that he can maintain this stance when faced with
the violence of the enemy.
Dougnac is a veteran of the Indo-China war who will stop at nothing — not
even torture and barbarism — to track down and destroy the Fellaghas of
Algeria's National Liberation Front and their leader, Slimane, an ex-World War
Two sergeant in De Lattre's army.
Among the Algerians fighting with the French is Rachid (Abdelhafio Metalsi),
who has family in Taïda — the village on the edge of the forbidden zone
where Fellaghas have been sighted. The Fellaghas send a collector for the revolutionary
tax every two weeks — a tax that the villagers would be foolish to refuse.
The soldiers search the village while Rachid speaks to his cousin Zarah (Gigi
Terkemani) and her son Amar (Lounès Machene). Although they tell him nothing
and Amar's brother is with Slimane, the village is massacred by the Fellaghas.
But there is one traumatised survivor. Dougnac tells the men they must never
forget what they have seen at Taïda.
Although clearly affected by what he has seen and, even after the violent skirmishes
that take a devastating toll on his men, Terrien still questions the torture
of a prisoner and the fighting of barbarism with barbarism as they prepare for
Operation Slimane at Meshta Rehki. But as the full extent of the atrocities
is revealed and he makes a grave error of judgement, the idealistic Lieutenant
begins to re-evaluate his methods, even if it means compromising his beliefs.
Furthermore, it has become apparent there is a traitor in their midst. And Terrien
is horrified by the contents of so-called "special drums".
Intimate Enemies is inspired by Patrick Rotman's book and subsequent
documentary concerning the personal and psychological effects of the 1954-62
Algerian War of Independence on the soldiers involved in the conflict.
An uncompromising and brutally realistic war movie dramatizing the experiences
of a platoon of French soldiers fighting the Fellaghas of Algeria's National
Liberation Front in the country's remote mountain region, Intimate Enemies
contains brief stories of the soldiers who fight for France: Sayeed, whose wife
and children have been butchered by the Fellaghas and who fought with the Free
French during the Second World War to open the Rome road, fighting German commandos
hand-to-hand; Lacroix, who films his friends; and Dougnac, who has left a wife
in Indo-China.
Intimate Enemies is beautifully shot against the rugged landscape of
Algeria. There are a couple of gruesome and unsettling moments but the film
is handled sympathetically and challenges the beliefs of both sides and how
they are perceived. The film also features: Aurélien Recoing as Commandant Visoul;
Marc Barbé as Capitaine Berthaut; Vincent Rottiers as Lefranc; Adrien Saint-Jore
as Lacroix; Guillaume Gouix as Delmas; Antoine Laurent as Maheu; Anthony Decadi
as Rougier; Timothée Manesse as Zunino.
Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri (director of the critically-acclaimed action
thrillers Hostage, starring Bruce Willis, and The Nest), Intimate
Enemies is co-written by Siri and author Rotman. The Director of Photography
is Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci and the excellent, atmospheric music is by Alexandre
Desplat.
Intimate Enemies comes to DVD as a special two-disc release loaded with
extra features that provide an informative and comprehensive look at the making
of the film and the real-life background to the story. A provocative war movie,
it serves as a suitable companion piece to both Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle
Of Algiers and Rachid Bouchareb's Days Of Glory.
• The two-disc Intimate Enemies (Cert.
15) is available now on DVD at an RRP of £19.99 (Released 9 June, 2008).
Disc One
Feature presentation; scene selection; French 5.1 and DTS audio options; optional
English subtitles.
Disc Two
A Director's Vision: Interview with Florent-Emilio Siri; Memories of War: Ex-Servicemen
Recall; Storyboards (Ghost Town; Shooting First; War Of Words; Napalm Death;
A Last Cigarette; Forest Fight; The Final Battle); Photo Gallery; UK Theatrical
Trailer; From Actors to Soldiers; Cast and Crew Interview Gallery.
"An eye-opening journey into the dark heart of an oft-forgotten war" —
Film Review
(5 stars)
"Slick action scenes" — The Daily Mirror
"Harrowing" — Empire Magazine
"Horrifically disturbing" — The Independent
"…emotive tale…that packs a punch" — The Times
"Intimate Enemies is beautifully shot against the rugged landscape of
Algeria. There are a couple of gruesome and unsettling moments but the film
is handled sympathetically and challenges the beliefs of both sides and how
they are perceived" — MotorBar
"In the end, the strength of the innocent is broken
Had I known the outcome of accursed fate
I would have attacked first
For they will cut my throat
Or banish me from this land" — Kabyle poem recited by Sayeed in the
film
Two million young Frenchmen were mobilized in Algeria: 27,000 lost their lives
there; an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 died on the Algerian side.
Algeria won independence in 1962 but it was only in October 1999 that France
officially recognised there had been a war in Algeria.
“On
November 1, 1954, after 130 years