Intimate Enemies

"The scars of war last forever"

2007 1h 48m FR

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

57%

ROTTEN

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 93🥫57%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 3,474

DramaWarHistory

Synopsis

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A drama following a French platoon during Algeria's war of independence.

“The scars of war last forever”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Benoît Magimel
Terrien
Albert Dupontel
Dougnac
Mohamed Fellag
Fellag
Lounès Tazairt
Saïd
Abdelhafid Metalsi
Rachid
Vincent Rottiers
Lefranc
Lounès Machene
Amar
Adrien Saint-Joré
Lacroix

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Florent-Emilio Siri
Writers: Patrick Rotman
Languages: French
Countries: France, Morocco

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Morocco.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri, shot by Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Benoît Magimel and Albert Dupontel and Mohamed Fellag carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The scars of war last forever".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0825248 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Florent-Emilio Siri directs. Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. Produced in France, Morocco. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 19 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: France, Morocco.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri, shot by Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Benoît Magimel and Albert Dupontel and Mohamed Fellag carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The scars of war last forever".
8IMDB entry: tt0825248 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 93 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Production design: William Abello
Costume design: Mimi Lempicka
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Budget: $9,780,000
Original language: FR
IMDB: Intimate Enemies (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 3,474 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

2 wins & 4 nominations

Also by

Florent-Emilio Siri

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-04-02
★ 8/10
The war they tried to ignore! 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

Production companies