"Rachida" uses a pretty, young school teacher, the title character, as the centerpiece of this story which spends most of its time looking at the problems which beset Algeria in the 1990s when the country was struggling with civil war. This testament by its female Algerian director digs into life as a woman in the Sunni Muslim patriarchal culture and the day to day living with anxiety and fear as bands of guerrilla thugs roam the streets. As a subtitled foreign film with obvious budget limitations, location constraints, a first directorial outing, a cast of unknowns, and an story which pales when compared with Rwanda, for example, "Rachida" will go overlooked by most. However, for those with an interest in Algeria or stories about women trying to wrest happiness from a class culture in turmoil, "Rachida" should be worth a look. (C+)