EIFF Review: Exils

Posted by: Scott Hayes  •  October 19, 2004 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

Zano makes a proposition to his lover, Naïma, to travel from France to Algeria to discover the homeland of his parents who were killed early in his life. They set off walking across Europe, discovering new lands and themselves at the same time, until they finally reach their historic destination.

I like this film because it lets the music do the storytelling. More than that, in fact. The narrative thread, while thin, is held intact by music. Music is a companion on this sensuous journey through France, Andalucia, Morocco, and Algeria. It is a plot device and a character, not to mention the rich and lively soundtrack for Exils.

A technical problem with something somewhere caused a noticeable lack of subtitles through parts of this totally non-English film, like the first 5 minutes. Good thing the music was there to cover the tracks.