TETE DE TURC
JORDAN MINTZER

Variety
117942562.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
April 12 2010

A Warner Bros. France release of a Aliceeleo Cinema, Aliceeleo, France
2 Cinema production, in association with La Banque Postale Image 3,
Sofica EuropaCorp, with participation of Canal Plus, CineCinema,
France Televisions, CNC. (International sales: Other Angle Pictures,
Paris.) Produced by Patrick Godeau. Executive producer, Francois
Galfre. Directed, written by Pascal Elbe.

With: Roschdy Zem, Pascal Elbe, Ronit Elkabetz, Samir Makhlouf, Simon
Abkarian, Forence Thomassin, Valerie Benguigui, Monique Chaumette,
Laure Marsac, Stephan Guerin-Tillie, Brigitte Catillon, Gamil Ratib,
Moussa Masskri, Leo Elbe.

A fast-paced network narrative that ventures into the ever-newsworthy
French suburbs, "Tete de turc" (slang for "scapegoat") scores
solid notes for ambition, but doesn’t quite pull itself together
in a satisfying manner. Centered around an explosive incident that
leaves one benevolent doctor in a coma and one teenager in hiding,
thesp-cum-helmer Pascal Elbe’s ("Father and Sons") wide-reaching
scenario shows Gaul’s immigrant populations at the mercy of
roaming gangs and abusive cops, living under conditions more akin
to Deadwood than to Dijon. Domestic release by Warner Bros. France
should yield respectable coin, with Euro and Francophone bookings a
strong possibility.

Unlike other recent banlieue films, which are either pure genre
exercises ("District B13," "The Horde") or pure arthouse studies ("35
Shots of Rum," "Games of Love and Chance,"), Elbe’s script situates
itself between the two, using a thriller framework to tackle the
harsh realities currently plaguing the outskirts of Paris, Lyons
and Marseilles.

Based on a 2006 incident in which a Senegalese woman was burned alive
on a bus by a band of violent teens, the action here is transplanted
to France’s less publicized Turkish and Armenian communities, and
presents several characters linked together by an attack that occurs
in the pic’s opening minutes.

When physician Simon (Elbe) pays a call to a menacing housing project,
his vehicle is ambushed by rock-throwing youths, including high
schooler Bora (Samir Makhlouf), who launches a Molotov cocktail but
then rushes to save the doc before his car explodes. As Simon rests
in a coma, Bora tries to avoid exposing himself to the cops and his
hot-blooded seamstress mom (Ronit Elkabetz), but he’s soon beaten
down by drug dealers angry that the neighborhood is now filled with
roving reporters and police patrols.

Meanwhile, Simon’s detective bro, Atom (Roschdy Zem), is conducting his
own jaw-breaking investigation to find the culprit, but he’s unaware
that a local nutcase (Simon Abkarian) — who lost his wife due to
Simon’s attack — is also plotting revenge. As expected from such a
dramatic structure, the various plot points eventually tie together,
and somebody doesn’t make it out alive.

There’s a swell of different themes (social injustice, family secrets,
coming-of-age struggles) presented here, and pic’s major flaw is its
attempt to give them all equal coverage rather than concentrating on
the stronger ones. Bora’s tale — marked by lively performances from
newcomer Makhlouf and Israeli actress-helmer Elkabetz ("The Seven
Days") — is an engrossing depiction of an immigrant youth’s fight
to save his skin and reputation while doing the right thing. But the
various subplots involving Simon and Atom only hamper the overall
narrative flow.

Washed-out, handheld imagery by Jean-Francois Hensgens ("District 13:
Ultimatum") tends to overexpose the tense atmosphere, depicting the
suburbs as a virtual no man’s land where walking to school in broad
daylight can be a highly treacherous affair.

French title is a play on both Bora’s ethnic origins and the role he
serves in the eyes of his family, friends and the larger community.

Camera (color, Panavision widescreen), Jean-Francois Hensgens; editor,
Luc Barnier; music, Bruno Coulais; production designer, Denis Mercier;
costume designer, Jacqueline Bouchard; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS
Digital), Pierre Tucat, Arnaud Rolland, Daniel Sobrino; assistant
director, Olivier Coutard; casting, Nicolas Ronchi. Reviewed at UGC
Cine Cite Les Halles 4, Paris, April 5, 2010. (In City of Lights,
City of Angels Film Festival.) Running time: 87 MIN.