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
Review of Viva Laldjérie
