Bled Number One (2006)

Bled Number One tells the story of several people through the eyes of Kamel, who has been deported from France and returns to his native village, Loulouj, in Algeria. He finds, not without disillusionment, a male-dominated society where women eat separately from men. There is Louisa, toward whom he seems to feel some attraction. She goes back to her parents because her husband mistreats her, returning to her family with her son. She is then faced with the disapproval of her own family. Her mother gives her a cold reception, thinking more about the dishonor her daughter will bring upon her than about what her daughter is feeling. Bouzid, Louisa’s brother, is attacked while drunk by fanatics who consider his behavior unworthy of Islam and threaten to slit his throat. This group of young men, called the “desperados” in the credits, spreads terror by also attacking domino players and anyone who does not obey religious laws. Louisa’s husband, a young politician, comes back to get her and throws her out of the car after leaving the village. She returns home alone, dishonored, and her brother makes her feel it: he hits her. Louisa is unhappy and feels abandoned and alone. She wants her child and wants to sing to ease her pain. Her mother-in-law disowns her. She tries to kill herself and ends up in a psychiatric hospital, where at last she can sing, surrounded by women like her: alone, dishonored, but united. The atmosphere is stifling for Kamel, who nevertheless tries to adapt to this environment. But by the end, it can be understood that he is going to try to leave by way of Tunisia. He wants to flee this country where he feels like a stranger, this country that he now finds hostile and violent.