I have just seen L'ennemi intime, a film about a young lieutenant during the Algeria war in 1959. A few films have already been shot about that war (L'honneur d'un capitaine, La bataille d'Alger, etc.) but this one is the best. At least it will change the way films are made on this matter. The actors are good, the images beautiful, the action very well done. And the film show the atrocities from both side (and that's quite rare actually, usually in France you have the "bad French" against the "nice fellous"). This film has the quality of Platoon or Apocalypse now. I only give 8/10 because of the end, not perfect. But it's a must seen film.
16 Reviews
Excellent war film
gordonl562 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
INTIMATE ENEMIES 2007
This French film from 2007 is one of the better films I've seen about the The French-Algerian War. This conflict started in 1954 and continued till 1962.
The French had just lost a war over a colony with the fight for Indo-China. They were determined not to lose another. The Algerian FLN fought a largely guerrilla war from the countryside. The French responded in kind with small unit teams combing the country. The war was known to be quite brutal with torture etc being used by both sides. The conflict was as much of a Civil War as it was an attempt to hold a colony. Many Algerians sided with the French and fought in French Army units.
This film starts out in the summer of 1959 in the inland mountains. A French platoon is based at an outpost charged with keeping the peace in the surrounding villages. They go out every day on patrol hunting groups of FLN guerrillas. Every so often they ambush the enemy and every so often they are ambushed. The war seems to be one long battle of attrition.
After the platoon Lieutenant is killed in a botched operation, the unit receives a fresh officer right out of France. The new man, Benoît Magimel, is soon in conflict with the unit's veteran Sergeant, Albert Dupontel. Dupontel, who had been in Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong, knows one has to be as hard as the enemy is. The Lieutenant learns quickly when the platoon gets in a battle with a FLN group smuggling weapons. The FLN had all been dressed as women and had nearly gotten by the patrol till the veteran, Dupontel, spotted the deception.
The following weeks sees the platoon engaged in several firefights with various FLN groups. During one of these fights, the French come close to being wiped out. They need to call in air support which hit the FLN with some large napalm bombs. Afterwards the patrol captures a man for questioning. The local intelligence officer is soon at work with batteries and electric cables. This of course does not go well with the new officer, Magimel. The method though proves effective and valuable information is collected.
Every night the men at the outpost get stinking drunk and count the days till they get back to France. When one of the patrols finds a friendly village massacred, they respond in kind on another village. The war is boiling down to one bloody event leading into another. Needless to say there is not going to be a happy ending here.
This film is well worth looking up in my opinion. The cinematography is excellent and the battle scenes well handled. The air support action is top-flight with De Havilland Vampire aircraft dropping the napalm.
This French film from 2007 is one of the better films I've seen about the The French-Algerian War. This conflict started in 1954 and continued till 1962.
The French had just lost a war over a colony with the fight for Indo-China. They were determined not to lose another. The Algerian FLN fought a largely guerrilla war from the countryside. The French responded in kind with small unit teams combing the country. The war was known to be quite brutal with torture etc being used by both sides. The conflict was as much of a Civil War as it was an attempt to hold a colony. Many Algerians sided with the French and fought in French Army units.
This film starts out in the summer of 1959 in the inland mountains. A French platoon is based at an outpost charged with keeping the peace in the surrounding villages. They go out every day on patrol hunting groups of FLN guerrillas. Every so often they ambush the enemy and every so often they are ambushed. The war seems to be one long battle of attrition.
After the platoon Lieutenant is killed in a botched operation, the unit receives a fresh officer right out of France. The new man, Benoît Magimel, is soon in conflict with the unit's veteran Sergeant, Albert Dupontel. Dupontel, who had been in Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong, knows one has to be as hard as the enemy is. The Lieutenant learns quickly when the platoon gets in a battle with a FLN group smuggling weapons. The FLN had all been dressed as women and had nearly gotten by the patrol till the veteran, Dupontel, spotted the deception.
The following weeks sees the platoon engaged in several firefights with various FLN groups. During one of these fights, the French come close to being wiped out. They need to call in air support which hit the FLN with some large napalm bombs. Afterwards the patrol captures a man for questioning. The local intelligence officer is soon at work with batteries and electric cables. This of course does not go well with the new officer, Magimel. The method though proves effective and valuable information is collected.
Every night the men at the outpost get stinking drunk and count the days till they get back to France. When one of the patrols finds a friendly village massacred, they respond in kind on another village. The war is boiling down to one bloody event leading into another. Needless to say there is not going to be a happy ending here.
This film is well worth looking up in my opinion. The cinematography is excellent and the battle scenes well handled. The air support action is top-flight with De Havilland Vampire aircraft dropping the napalm.
The war they tried to ignore!
hitchcockthelegend2 April 2016
L'ennemi intime (Intimate Enemies) is a raw picture looking at French conscripts during the Algeria War. It was a war that was fought for 8 years between 1954-1962, it was also a war that France failed to even acknowledged had existed until over three decades later. Pic picks up the thread in 1959 and the focal point is the relationship between Lieutenant Terrien (Benoît Magimel) and Sergent Dougnac (Albert Dupontel). The former is the new guy, idealistic, while the latter is the grizzled and battled scarred veteran.
The Barbarian Hordes.
With the French locked in battle against the Algerian rebels, the film runs the protagonists through the psychological mangler. The horrors of war are born out, with both sides of the conflict depicted with a barbarity that's harrowing in nature. As the pic progresses you can see Terrien being worn down by what he observes, the key being he is losing his idealistic heart. Moral dilemmas are deftly inserted into the screenplay, but disappointingly the political thrum that was driving the conflict is given short shrift.
From an action stand point director and co-writer Florent-Emilio Siri strikes hard, with two particular sequences - one a field of fleeing soldiers and the finale involving air-strikes - outstanding in construction. Siri also knows when to tighten the emotional noose, bringing to us poignant scenes that leave a lump in the throat. Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci's cinematography is also to be applauded, muted colours mingle with stark framing compositions to really give the sense of realism that the screenplay demands and deserves.
Aside from the lack of political basis (we need to know more about this war), the only other real problems with the piece is the conventionality, and that it inevitably is filled with war film stereotypes. However, this is very good film making and the makers bring the story to vivid life, always remaining fascinating and certainly unforgettable. 8/10
The Barbarian Hordes.
With the French locked in battle against the Algerian rebels, the film runs the protagonists through the psychological mangler. The horrors of war are born out, with both sides of the conflict depicted with a barbarity that's harrowing in nature. As the pic progresses you can see Terrien being worn down by what he observes, the key being he is losing his idealistic heart. Moral dilemmas are deftly inserted into the screenplay, but disappointingly the political thrum that was driving the conflict is given short shrift.
From an action stand point director and co-writer Florent-Emilio Siri strikes hard, with two particular sequences - one a field of fleeing soldiers and the finale involving air-strikes - outstanding in construction. Siri also knows when to tighten the emotional noose, bringing to us poignant scenes that leave a lump in the throat. Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci's cinematography is also to be applauded, muted colours mingle with stark framing compositions to really give the sense of realism that the screenplay demands and deserves.
Aside from the lack of political basis (we need to know more about this war), the only other real problems with the piece is the conventionality, and that it inevitably is filled with war film stereotypes. However, this is very good film making and the makers bring the story to vivid life, always remaining fascinating and certainly unforgettable. 8/10
amazing, gripping movie
solaris196816 January 2009
An incredibly-filmed, gripping, and haunting movie about the horrors of guerrilla warfare, from the perspective of French troops in Algeria. The film is hypnotizing in its portrayal of the way in which violence and torture end up shattering these men's psyche and spirit.
The movie is also a good reminder of the hypocrisy of imperial powers. Many French fought the Nazi Germans when they invaded their country in the name of "freedom", but just 20 years later they were trying to crush the Algerian resistance for doing exactly the same thing: opposing a foreign, colonial occupation of their land. Yet the movie avoids simplistic dichotomies and, far from romanticizing the Algerian FLN, it crudely shows the atrocities committed by both sides. The landscapes in which the action takes place are mesmerizing in their crude, gripping, raw beauty.
The movie is also a good reminder of the hypocrisy of imperial powers. Many French fought the Nazi Germans when they invaded their country in the name of "freedom", but just 20 years later they were trying to crush the Algerian resistance for doing exactly the same thing: opposing a foreign, colonial occupation of their land. Yet the movie avoids simplistic dichotomies and, far from romanticizing the Algerian FLN, it crudely shows the atrocities committed by both sides. The landscapes in which the action takes place are mesmerizing in their crude, gripping, raw beauty.
A decent attempt...
Scotchorama5 October 2007
L'Ennemi Intime is a good attempt at portraying the Algerian War and its complexities. It is undoubtedly a gritty movie, with grittier colors, and even grittier characters... I came feeling gritty myself, and uneasy, which means that in my case the film did have a certain impact. However, the story-that of an idealistic lieutenant facing the realities of war and his reaction-was, in my opinion, weak. Filmed mostly from the French soldiers' point of view, the film was too simplistic and predictable, and its characters are unidimensional and bland, and ultimately unconvincing. The only difference in this film is that it is about the Algerian War. Whereas it is not your average hero-triumphs war movie, it is your average innocent-discovers-horror war movie. It is not as deep and good as Chronique des Annees de Braise, and is miles from the provocatively brilliant, and highly-recommended Bataille d'Alger.
Utterly outstanding
ewan-5922 February 2008
I have just seen this film and was very impressed indeed.
Many have been very critical of this film stating the characters were hollow and the film itself was little more than another ain't war hell story. However there is a lot more to it than that.
The film, like 'Land and Freedom' gives a much needed insight into a very dirty war that has largely been forgotten.
From an accuracy perspective the equipment and weapons etc were spot on for the period. Contrast this to 'Tea with Mussolini' and 'Atonement' to name but a few. The film also shows many scenes of endlessly trudging through the mountains looking for an elusive enemy with no apparent end in sight. If you read Legionnaire by Simon Murray or Wayward Legionnaire by James William Worden you will quickly discover that that was exactly what the war in Algeria was like. Finally the film shows the FLN to be every bit as brutal as the French (which they were). This is a nice change from the usual blame it all on the white man theme.
Aside from material accuracy this film also brilliantly presents two very real dilemmas. The first was the French fighting against their former allies. (Many FLN members had fought with the French against the Germans in WW II. See 'Days of Glory'). The second is the highly relevant subject of torture. On the one hand its use is highly immoral and barbaric, but it is producing effective results.
Overall an outstanding film about a subject that needs to be told. Now how about an accurate film on the Korean War and the French war in Indo China.
Many have been very critical of this film stating the characters were hollow and the film itself was little more than another ain't war hell story. However there is a lot more to it than that.
The film, like 'Land and Freedom' gives a much needed insight into a very dirty war that has largely been forgotten.
From an accuracy perspective the equipment and weapons etc were spot on for the period. Contrast this to 'Tea with Mussolini' and 'Atonement' to name but a few. The film also shows many scenes of endlessly trudging through the mountains looking for an elusive enemy with no apparent end in sight. If you read Legionnaire by Simon Murray or Wayward Legionnaire by James William Worden you will quickly discover that that was exactly what the war in Algeria was like. Finally the film shows the FLN to be every bit as brutal as the French (which they were). This is a nice change from the usual blame it all on the white man theme.
Aside from material accuracy this film also brilliantly presents two very real dilemmas. The first was the French fighting against their former allies. (Many FLN members had fought with the French against the Germans in WW II. See 'Days of Glory'). The second is the highly relevant subject of torture. On the one hand its use is highly immoral and barbaric, but it is producing effective results.
Overall an outstanding film about a subject that needs to be told. Now how about an accurate film on the Korean War and the French war in Indo China.
BRILLIANT Film-making!
thetrapmovie18 March 2008
This film is nothing short of "brilliant." "L'ennemi Intime" is set in French-occupied Algeria in 1959 at the height of the insurgency. A French platoon is sent deep into enemy territory to find and liquidate the head of the insurgents called Slimane. Lieutenant Terrien, a novice and a humanist, is given charge of the platoon after its commander is accidentally killed by friendly fire. "L'ennemi Intime" is a little bit like "The Battle of Algiers" but set in the mountains of Kabylie (Berber territory in Algeria). I first saw it at the Dubai Film Festival in December 07 and was completely blown away by it. It is so gripping and visceral. The film is an incredible commentary on the inhumanity of war; how not matter how innocent and good one goes to war he is almost certain to become a beast and a murderer in the end. I highly recommend this film. Every soldier who is about to be deployed to a war zone should watch Ennemi Intime. Its simplest message is that war corrupts the human soul and there are no winners once the shooting stops.
Spectacular politics : brilliant !
clementtuffreau-12 October 2007
Be prepared... Here comes what might be the most important french movie of the last few years. France has always been hiding its little political secrets and taboos, and although Americans have been multiplying projects about the Vietnam wars and the Watergate, France rarely make movies about politics. France hides itself behind the human rights. L'ENNEMI INTIME carries a heavy burden : to be the first major popular movie about the Algeria wars since THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS by Gillo Pontecorvo (1966). The objective is the same : the war still hides a huge taboo, and Siri (alongside Rotman, his writer) has tried to talk about it in a large way, avoiding caricatures and ideologies (upon which things wars usually define themselves). Lots of people in France are already accusing the movie of being spectacular. But all stories, important stories, once they've become an art form, have to drain mythology and great figures. In the way of Leone and Cimino, Siri draws archetypal soldiers torn apart between their nation, the facts, the day to day casualties of war and their own growing madness. L'ENNEMI INTIME is a true war movie, in the American tradition, as HELL IS FOR HEROES, MEN IN WAR or ATTACK. One mission turns nightmare. People redefine their own persona through this mission. The action, like in any war movie, is a political ritual that put human beings on trial with themselves. Siri uses the visual force of APOCALYPSE NOW and the brutality of PREDATOR (the scene with the falling trees) to build a mean, nervous, cruel vision, as dry as the movie is short and frontal (96 minutes). Spectacular means impact, shock, nervous attack. To wake up the minds and make them realize the importance of this war, the movie had to be spectacular. The FLN (arab liberation party) is cruel. French soldiers are cruel. Arabs torture Arabs tortured by french torturing themselves. This is war. A new brilliant motion picture by Florent Siri, making better movies each time.
Missing in inaction
vostf8 October 2007
L'Ennemi Intime is simply a non-movie. What does it take to dish out such an unidentifiable cinematographic object? Producer blindness, too proud to see the vacuum in the project, too proud to have it challenged by some trustworthy colleague.
L'Ennemi Intime first (digital) shot sets it all : it is not linked with the beginning of narration and the only purpose is to have the movie title pompously emerge from the horizon. Let's forget it. What's the story? A French platoon is stuck in the middle of The Undeclared War in Algeria. It's not really that they are stuck but there's a sensation they're alone to fight an (oh so) absurd war. Actually they are the French colonial power struggling against the ever elusive rebel forces who will fight to death for their freedom, for Algerian independence.
The subtext is clear if you know this part of History, yet the political aspect is buried under the makeshift of a script, I mean the episodic screenplay... well, let's say it more bluntly: the treatment in pictures.
Would you believe the storyline is only made of a series of missions that are loosely connected (fight the rebels round the corner)? What else? Nothing. The pitched opposition between the idealistically young Lieutenant and the experienced tough Sergeant is not an opposition, only an easy-going working relationship. Lieutenant Terrien (Magimel) is a bland character with no character arc whatsoever, Sergeant Dougnac (Dupontel) is basically more interesting but nothing interesting happens to him after the opening sequence before Terrien is brought in to helm the bunch.
Except for a couple of French-Algerian characters there's almost nobody to root for. The absence of story is all the more palpable as locations are great and the cinematography is excellent. In the end there's a gigantic gap between the graphical aspirations of the director and the inaction imposed over by the script.
Obviously the idea was to team up a promising director (Siri) who would deliver the images and a documentary screenwriter (Rotman) who would deliver the contents (historical and controversial yet accurate). The problem is Siri is light on screen-writing and only understands action while Rotman is overwhelmed by his historical knowledge and doesn't know how to write fiction (i.e. loosen the ties of historical accuracy to tell an engaging story featuring interesting fictional characters).
BOTTOM LINE. Cinematography and locations: excellent. All the rest is not worth watching.
L'Ennemi Intime first (digital) shot sets it all : it is not linked with the beginning of narration and the only purpose is to have the movie title pompously emerge from the horizon. Let's forget it. What's the story? A French platoon is stuck in the middle of The Undeclared War in Algeria. It's not really that they are stuck but there's a sensation they're alone to fight an (oh so) absurd war. Actually they are the French colonial power struggling against the ever elusive rebel forces who will fight to death for their freedom, for Algerian independence.
The subtext is clear if you know this part of History, yet the political aspect is buried under the makeshift of a script, I mean the episodic screenplay... well, let's say it more bluntly: the treatment in pictures.
Would you believe the storyline is only made of a series of missions that are loosely connected (fight the rebels round the corner)? What else? Nothing. The pitched opposition between the idealistically young Lieutenant and the experienced tough Sergeant is not an opposition, only an easy-going working relationship. Lieutenant Terrien (Magimel) is a bland character with no character arc whatsoever, Sergeant Dougnac (Dupontel) is basically more interesting but nothing interesting happens to him after the opening sequence before Terrien is brought in to helm the bunch.
Except for a couple of French-Algerian characters there's almost nobody to root for. The absence of story is all the more palpable as locations are great and the cinematography is excellent. In the end there's a gigantic gap between the graphical aspirations of the director and the inaction imposed over by the script.
Obviously the idea was to team up a promising director (Siri) who would deliver the images and a documentary screenwriter (Rotman) who would deliver the contents (historical and controversial yet accurate). The problem is Siri is light on screen-writing and only understands action while Rotman is overwhelmed by his historical knowledge and doesn't know how to write fiction (i.e. loosen the ties of historical accuracy to tell an engaging story featuring interesting fictional characters).
BOTTOM LINE. Cinematography and locations: excellent. All the rest is not worth watching.
Horror, the horror
fat-frog28 July 2009
Well, Some official critics wrote "the French Apocalypse Now". Well, it's much less, hum, metaphorical than apocalypse now. Not just because of the countryside aspect. Were no more in the damp swamps of Vietnam, but the dry lands of Mediterranean countries. Here is just the ugly truth. No black and white, grey, like the uniforms covered of dust. That's a great aspect of this movie. They just show ordinary men becoming Beast. Because it's war, because war is ugly, because this wasn't an ordinary war. It's deeply based on true facts, like this former Resistant using torture, despite having being tortured himself while a resistant. Or those two Algerian mates, who used to fight in the Monte Casino against the German... and then one of them kill the other, because they're in two different side, and one of them had his family killed by the other one's friends. And the fellagas using ugly means, because there's no other mean to free your country. I was more shaken by this movie than I was by any Vietnam movies. Because, well, maybe, Terrien, he could just have been me.
Just as Vietnam war movies
arsenick13 April 2008
"Intimate Enemies" could have been strong, provocative, with deep characters. One thing about the main character - a young french volunteer being chief of a platoon near forbidden areas- is that we never know the reasons why he volunteered in a war he dislikes. He is neither a professional soldier -like many who fought in Indochina and volunteered again in Algeria- nor a young called-up for duty. The character of the sergeant who tries to be human in an horrible world is deeper, but is not the main character and the movie is focused on the young one. However, the movie is not very original, but efficient, remembering clichés that are not false, and refreshing memories. I am also glad that French people begin to shoot standard movies about this war, not wonders but common films. It tries to make this subject more popular. The movie called "Mon colonel" was far better and deeper, but may be this one is more a blockbuster type: action, firing - love is missing- and moralizing movie.
Strong Film
MikeyB179327 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This is a strong film about France's colonial war in Algeria. It has an anti-war message that well demonstrates the evil of colonialism and the self-destructiveness of war on the individual participants.
No side is glorified (or put another way both sides are vilified) and indeed we can see that Algeria was a prior version of Vietnam and for that matter our modern day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The film does not evade controversial subjects like torture – an ugly product of all wars.
I felt the characters to be well-defined with a good and engaging script. The main focus is on a novice and idealistic captain who comes to serve his country and begins a slow descent into the abyss.
No side is glorified (or put another way both sides are vilified) and indeed we can see that Algeria was a prior version of Vietnam and for that matter our modern day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The film does not evade controversial subjects like torture – an ugly product of all wars.
I felt the characters to be well-defined with a good and engaging script. The main focus is on a novice and idealistic captain who comes to serve his country and begins a slow descent into the abyss.
War up close & personnel
kevinkishin23 March 2020
Hey! If you're looking for a War movie with some grit this is it, the movie gas a American vibe but with French flavor no over the top diatribe, this movie keeps it simple in my opinion, my advice do some back ground research after viewing outside of that this is a must see.
Awesome
searchanddestroy-11 November 2018
I realize now that it is probably the first French film, with the exception of Yves Boisset's RAS, to speak so openly about the war in Algeria. The previous one, in this kind of filming and writing was not a French movie but an American one: THE LOST COMMAND, starring Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet, besides Anthony Quinn. Benoit Magimel gives here one of his best performances ever, as the tenderfoot who changes so abruptly from good towards evil. Terrific.
French experience in Algeria
tomkudo18 September 2020
Outstanding movie on the warfare in Algeria for it's independence, I like the portrayal of the Lieutenant' s transformation after being in combat with his platoon. The movie shows the effects the conflict had on both the French and the Algerians. I strongly recommend seeing the documentary Siege of Algiers as a compliment to this movie.
Most underated movie of all time
carlosmoreno-0057312 April 2022
Intimate enemies is one of the best war movies of all time. The concept sounds quite basic and a copy of most other war movies although the character development, historical accuracy, incredible plot and simply one of the best endings of all time makes this movie a pure masterpiece.
The movie takes place during the 50s when france was involved in a secretive war with algergia the movie depicts the war as if it was frances vietnam if france wasnt already in vietnam. The protaganist in this movie is excellent and the character development not only him but the rest of his platoon goes through is great.
The battles are extremely gripping and hard to look away from and the physological aspects of this movie only adds on to the greatness. I highly suggest you watch this movie despite its mediocre score.
The movie takes place during the 50s when france was involved in a secretive war with algergia the movie depicts the war as if it was frances vietnam if france wasnt already in vietnam. The protaganist in this movie is excellent and the character development not only him but the rest of his platoon goes through is great.
The battles are extremely gripping and hard to look away from and the physological aspects of this movie only adds on to the greatness. I highly suggest you watch this movie despite its mediocre score.
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