Poetical Refugee

2000 film by Abdellatif Kechiche

February 14, 2001 (2001-02-14)

Running time

130 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrenchBudget$1.9 million ^[1]

Poetical Refugee (French: La Faute à Voltaire) is a 2001 French drama film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, starring Sami Bouajila, Élodie Bouchez and Bruno Lochet. It was Kechiche‘s debut feature film and was awarded the Luigi De Laurentiis Award at the Venice Film Festival for best first film, winning seven awards, overall, at different film festivals.^[2]

Plot

Like Voltaire‘s Candide in his eponymous novel, Jallel, a young North African man, dreaming of better prospects, immigrates illegally to France. He struggles at first as he is unable to find work and finds it difficult to make friends. But soon he gets to sell fruits in the underground, albeit illegally. He also makes some new friends and then falls in love. But his dreams of success remain unrealized as he comes to discover and share the solidarity of the other outcasts going from one encounter to the other, making his way through Paris, from hostels to immigrant aid societies and social welfare groups, living among the excluded and the destitute.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Cast

Élodie Bouchez : Lucie
Sami Bouajila : Jallel
Aure Atika : Nassera
Bruno Lochet : Franck
Mustapha Adouani : Mostfa
Carole Franck : Barbara
Virginie Darmon : Leila
Olivier Loustau : Antonio
François Genty : Paul
Sami Zitouni : Nono
Jean-Michel Fête : Philippe
Manuel Le Lièvre : André

Critical reception

"With superb performances by Sami Bouajila (Bye Bye), Aure Atika and Elodie Bouchez (The Dream Life of Angels), Poetical Refugee offers a moving and tender portrayal of life on the margins, a review by Cinema of the World noted.^[6]

Accolades

Angers European First Film Festival-2001

European Special Jury Award
Jean Carmet Award for the ensemble of actors.

Cologne Mediterranean Film Festival-2001

Best Actress to Élodie Bouchez

Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film-2000

Jury Special Prize
Youth Jury Emile Cantillon Award
nominated for Golden Bayard Best Film (Meilleur Film Francophone)

Venice Film Festival-2000

Cinema for Peace Award
Luigi De Laurentiis Award

References

^ "La Faute à Voltaire (2001) - JPBox-Office".
^ "Poetical Refugee(2000): Awards". IMDB. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
^ "Poetical Refugee". Kino Festivals. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
^ "Poetical Refugee". el Cinema. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
^ "La faute à Voltaire-Multicultural Germany Project". Department of German, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
^ "La Faute à Voltaire aka Blame It on Voltaire (2000)". Cinema of the World. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2015.