Made in France, written by Eric Besnard, Nicolas Boukhrief and directed by the latter

Made in France, written by Eric Besnard, Nicolas Boukhrief and directed by the latter

A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E  and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

In a world with ever more frequent terrorist attacks, this film is very relevant.

For it is about a terrorist cell.

Malik Zidi is excellent in the role of the hero- Sam.

He is a journalist born to an Algerian father and French mother.

The pretense is that he took the religion of the father and he became a fundamentalist.

Sam wants to write about terrorism.

In order to get an accurate picture, he wants to infiltrate a cell.

And he has a good scenario.

He talks Arabic, unlike the leader of the cell.

On matters of the Koran, he is the one consulted.

In a film with a “terrorizing” subject, there is a little humor.

When Hassan and Christophe want to know about what happens in bed, there is a dialogue which is more or less:

-          What is allowed by the Koran?

-          Penetration, oral sex are all right

-          Yes…

-          But sodomy is strictly forbidden…do not sodomize her…

Well, words to that effect

Sam gets along well with his colleagues- Hassan and Christophe.

There is even a bond that has been created between the three of them.

But the fundamentalist Driss is another matter.

This is the leader of the cell and he is a real mad man, violent, heinous and bent on murdering innocent people.

They need to get weapons and they contact someone they know of and try to negotiate on pistols, machine guns and other such war material.

Driss decides that they will attack and kill those arms dealers, instead of paying the large sums required.

Sam is horrified and seeing as there are already two dead men in this journalistic investigation he goes to the police.

But he cannot get out, as he wants, because the policemen want more information and they press and blackmail him.

You either help us with more details staying with them, or else we arrest you right now and charge you with being an accomplice.

They even state the obvious, that once in jail, the writer will be found by the jihadists and his fate would be sealed.

Faced with the terrible options, Sam stays on, in spite of the fact that he has a wife and child waiting home.

In a further incident, the gang shoots a policeman, albeit he survives and in the escape, Sam is the driver.

Hassan is mad at him because he did not run over the agent who could after they drove shoot at the car.

One of the members of the cell is hit and he soon afterwards dies, generating a serious faceoff between the journalist and a jihadist.

Sam is promised an early exit, if only he introduces software in the computer of the leader, so that the police could trace his communication.

Alas, they do not get anything and they want the inside man to go on, even if he knows how dangerous the situation is.

Fortunately, if we can use this word in relation with this type of worst individual that exists on the planet, there is another confrontation.

I will not say what happens next.

The film is a worthwhile watch, for I think that the psychology, modus operandi of these mad men is well described and exposed.