It is not always easy for a director to cause loud laughter in the audience in a cinematic work, many of his scenes are steeped in violence. But the owner of the Algerian “Omar of Strawberry”, Elias Belkadar, succeeded in this task and attracted an audience Cannes To follow up a story with a kind of suspense and fun, in which actors Reda Kateb and Benoit Magimel once again demonstrated great cinematic sophistication in such roles.
The two actors played complementary roles, in which each one needed the other, although Magimel (“Roger” in the film) was entrusted with the “responsibility” of protecting his friend “Omar” (Rida Kateb) from the slips that he might pay dearly for. “My character is to protect Omar…” Reckless in his behavior within this cinematic work, Magimel explains his role to the press.
“We enjoyed disturbing people,” Reda Kateb jokes, commenting on his role in the film. And the French actor of Algerian origin adds: “Since I did not play many comic roles, I felt that I discovered new melodies and played the piano with four hands.” In the same context, his colleague Magimel praises working alongside Kateb: “I felt that we had a common sensitivity, even if we did not have the same way of playing in the movie. We had the same approach.”
“Omar Laferz”
In the first scene in the movie, he appears“Roger” and “Omar” in a barren desert, chatting on foot, before the camera stops at a four-wheel drive vehicle that was waiting for them, its owners dressed in desert uniforms. The two walk over to them and receive a bag without exchanging words with them.
“Omar” and “Roger” later join a wedding convoy, which eventually turns out to be to camouflage the security men on the roads, with the aim of passing hard drugs. The director moves to a popular neighborhood to film the rest of the scenes, all of which were struggles and violence in order to win the bag. Gangs fought over it, eventually returning to Omar.
And the secret of the strawberry nickname or “Friz” in French, which is called “Omar”, was revealed by his friend “Roger”. He was known as a troubled child from his early years at school. And one day he “revenge” a teacher who punished him earlier by “giving him” strawberry fruits in French, after he put inside them small needles that are difficult to see with the naked eye.
The official trailer for “The Age of Strawberries”
Omar brings behind him a heavy criminal record in France. He is wanted by the judiciary, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. But the flames of nostalgia for France remained burning in him. And every time he tried to persuade his friend “Roger” to return to his country, he “craved French wine and cheese.” This was what his friend kept refusing, reminding him repeatedly that he was wanted by the judiciary and could never do so. He only has to think about building projects away from the drug trade. All these events were narrated by the director in a comic form, despite many scenes of violence.
Unlike other Maghreb and Arab films shown at the festival, love was present in the work of Elias Belkadar. Perhaps his scenes gave another breath to the movie. The loneliness that accompanied “Omar” in voluntary exile in his second country, Algeria, he wanted one day to put an end to it and approach the young woman “Samia”, the character of the young actress Maryam Amyar, who was in charge of a factory in which he became a partner, all with comical cinematic flavors.
Despite his tendencies to violence, and his criminal record, “Omar” had a big heart, and he tried by all means to convince “Samia” of his love for her. But she discovered him at some point and confronted him with evidence that he was a wanted criminal in France, and showed him a video of a media outlet talking about his past with crime. However, he convinced her that this had become a thing of the past, and he was finally able to win her heart, while he lost his friend, “Roger”, in a murder.
“Queen’s Game”
The name of Algeria was also present at the Cannes Festival through a film Enjoyable, which is “The Queen’s Game” by Brazilian director of Algerian origin Karim Ainouz, who, similar to the opening film “Jean de Barry”, returned an audience that was to a stage in the history of European kings, in which he presented the British King Henry VIII’s arrogant relationship with his wives.
The film is originally a novel by British writer Elizabeth Fremantle, which was a huge commercial success. Its readers, as well as fans of historical films, will have a new opportunity to see its characters live on the big screen.
The film tells the story of Catherine Parr, the wife of British King Henry VIII, who killed all the women he had previously married, except for one wife who died of illness. This king, who had complex relations with women, was still looking for a male child to name him as crown prince.
King Henry VIII’s love and confidence in his sixth wife, a role embodied by actress Alicia Vikander, called on him to hand over the wheels of government to run the country when he goes out to war on the side of his armies. But the poison of doubts that seeped into his heart regarding her, spoiled his relationship with her, and made him live constantly in anxiety, which was exacerbated by an incurable disease that struck him in one of his legs.
Catherine Parr ended up in prison, by the decision of the clergy (and the approval of the king) who were afraid of her ideas, and fought her so that she would never reach power in the absence of a male crown prince. And they kept insisting on the king that it was a danger to him and to religion, especially since he was “the successor of the Lord on earth,” and harming him meant, to them, an assault on the sanctity of the kingdom and an incitement to rebellion against him.
Despite his tyranny and domination, the king failed in his battle in front of his wife, whose love bewitched him, so he released her from prison so that the guards could bring her to him so that he could see her. Their meeting was the last sight between them, as she finished him in his bed, and killed him when she was alone with him in his room. To establish a new kingdom according to other convictions that she secretly believed in years ago.
