Outside the Law

"Three brothers. One destiny. Freedom at all costs."

2010 2h 17m FR

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6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 207

ActionDramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

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After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle.

“Three brothers. One destiny. Freedom at all costs.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jamel Debbouze
Saïd
Roschdy Zem
Messaoud
Sami Bouajila
Abdelkader
Chafia Boudraa
Mother
Bernard Blancan
Faivre
Sabrina Seyvecou
Hélène
Assaad Bouab
Ali
Thibault de Montalembert
Morvan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Writers: Rachid Bouchareb
Languages: Arabic, French
Countries: France, Algeria, Belgium, Italy, Tunisia

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

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 12% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Arabic, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 5 countries: France, Algeria, Belgium, Italy, Tunisia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rachid Bouchareb, shot by Christophe Beaucarne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yannick Kergoat shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jamel Debbouze and Roschdy Zem and Sami Bouajila carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rachid Bouchareb directs. Christophe Beaucarne behind the camera. Armand Amar scores. Yannick Kergoat cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Algeria, Belgium, Italy, Tunisia. Dialogue in Arabic, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 12% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 16 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Arabic, French.
4International production across 5 countries: France, Algeria, Belgium, Italy, Tunisia.
5Directed by Rachid Bouchareb, shot by Christophe Beaucarne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Armand Amar. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Yannick Kergoat shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jamel Debbouze and Roschdy Zem and Sami Bouajila carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Three brothers. One destiny. Freedom at all costs.".
10IMDB entry: tt1229381 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Christophe Beaucarne
Original score: Armand Amar
Editing: Yannick Kergoat
Production design: Yan Arlaud
Costume design: Stéphane Rollot
Makeup / hair: Paul de Fisser
Sound: Thomas Gauder
Stunt coordinator: Gaëlle Cohen
Runtime: 137 min · 2h 17m
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $3,470,487
Return: 12% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: Outside the Law (2010)

Also by

Rachid Bouchareb

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-31
★ 6/10
Set against the increasing demands for Algerian independence at home, three brothers are living in 1950s France. "Saïd" (Jamel Debbouze) is making a decent living running a nightclub but his siblings are much less settled. "Abdelkader" (Sami Bouajila) is a member of a proscribed organisation using terrorist tactics to free their homeland, and he is determined to recruit former soldier "Messaoud" (Roschdy Zem) and "Saïd" to the cause. The latter isn't really interested, but with the police closing in on the family and his nightclub shut down, he now has some tough decisions to make. There's something of the terrorist being another man's freedom fighter adage to this story and it's essentially asking the question of an audience. What wouldn't we do for freedom? The brothers have fled Algeria to escape the purported brutality of their oppressive colonialists, but now in France they are visiting a similar threatening behaviour on innocents there. Two wrongs make a right? Were the police there to protect or to impose? All questions asked but sadly not really very well addressed. The acting is weak, the characters seriously undercooked and the writing (historically based or not) struggles to sell us these three men one way or the other. This had a chance to enhance the standard documentary look of a depiction of the justice and causes of revolution but instead it rather leaves it to us, and any knowledge of events we may have, to reach our own conclusions. Disappointing, I'd say.

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