Le Soleil assassiné (2003)
Directed by Abdelkrim Bahloul

Drama
aka: The Assassinated Sun

Film Synopsis

After Algeria achieved independence in 1962, most of its native European population left the country, through fear of what the future might hold for them.  Jean Sénac is one of the French nationals who have chosen to remain in Algeria, a prominent poet who isn't yet ready to turn his back on the country that he loves and still considers his own.  Through his publications and radio broadcasts, Sénac has become a very popular figure in Algeria, especially amongst the young, who look upon him as an inspiration.  Not everyone is so taken with him, however.

The poet who famously 'signed with a sun' is regarded with suspicion by the Algerian authorities, and he is constantly under police surveillance.   It is Sénac who comes to the aid of two students, Hamid and Belkacem, when the play they created for the first Algerian National Theatre Festival is censored because it is to be performed in the French language.  The students show their gratitude by assisting the poet in his determined personal campaign for cultural freedom.  The campaign will end suddenly and dramatically with Sénac's brutal murder, one night in August 1973...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Abdelkrim Bahloul
  • Script: Abdelkrim Bahloul, Charlotte Guigue, Jean-Pierre Péroncel-Hugoz
  • Cinematographer: Charles Van Damme
  • Music: Jean-Marie Sénia
  • Cast: Charles Berling (Jean Senac), Mehdi Dehbi (Hamid), Ouassini Embarek (Belkacem), Clotilde de Bayser (Nathalie), Abbes Zahmani (Othmane), Julia Maraval (Keltoum), Lotfi Abdelli (Zine), Fethi Haddaoui (Homme interrogatoire), Hichem Rostom (Bramsi), Alexis Loret (Jacques), Mohamed Graïaa, Lokman Nalcakan, Hajar Nouma
  • Country: France / Algeria / Belgium / Tunisia
  • Language: French
  • Support: Color
  • Runtime: 85 min
  • Aka: The Assassinated Sun ; The Sun Assassinated

The very best fantasy films in French cinema
sb-img-30
Whilst the horror genre is under-represented in French cinema, there are still a fair number of weird and wonderful forays into the realms of fantasy.
The very best of Italian cinema
sb-img-23
Fellini, Visconti, Antonioni, De Sica, Pasolini... who can resist the intoxicating charm of Italian cinema?
The brighter side of Franz Kafka
sb-img-1
In his letters to his friends and family, Franz Kafka gives us a rich self-portrait that is surprisingly upbeat, nor the angst-ridden soul we might expect.
The very best sci-fi movies
sb-img-19
Science-fiction came into its own in B-movies of the 1950s, but it remains a respected and popular genre, bursting into the mainstream in the late 1970s.
The best French Films of the 1910s
sb-img-2
In the 1910s, French cinema led the way with a new industry which actively encouraged innovation. From the serials of Louis Feuillade to the first auteur pieces of Abel Gance, this decade is rich in cinematic marvels.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © frenchfilms.org 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright