Sign In / Sign Up

Outside the Law

Outside the Law
Release date: 2010-09-21
Rating: 6.6
Votes: 196
Genres: Action, Drama, History, War
After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle.

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

Set against the increasing demands for Algerian independence at home, three brothers are living in 1950s France. "Saïd" (Jamel Debbouze) is making a decent living running a nightclub but his siblings are much less settled. "Abdelkader" (Sami Bouajila) is a member of a proscribed organisation using terrorist tactics to free their homeland, and he is determined to recruit former soldier "Messaoud" (Roschdy Zem) and "Saïd" to the cause. The latter isn't really interested, but with the police closing in on the family and his nightclub shut down, he now has some tough decisions to make. There's something of the terrorist being another man's freedom fighter adage to this story and it's essentially asking the question of an audience. What wouldn't we do for freedom? The brothers have fled Algeria to escape the purported brutality of their oppressive colonialists, but now in France they are visiting a similar threatening behaviour on innocents there. Two wrongs make a right? Were the police there to protect or to impose? All questions asked but sadly not really very well addressed. The acting is weak, the characters seriously undercooked and the writing (historically based or not) struggles to sell us these three men one way or the other. This had a chance to enhance the standard documentary look of a depiction of the justice and causes of revolution but instead it rather leaves it to us, and any knowledge of events we may have, to reach our own conclusions. Disappointing, I'd say.

Movie Recommendation

  • Black Venus
    Black Venus
    2010-10-27
    The true story of Saartje Baartman, a black South African worker who moves to London with her master in the early 19th century. Although she dreams of being an artist, once in Europe she is exploited as a sideshow attraction due to her large buttocks and genitalia.
    More...
  • The Marchers
    The Marchers
    2013-11-27
    In 1983, in France experiencing intolerance and racial violence , three young teens and the priest Minguettes launching a largely peaceful march for equality and against racism, over 1,000 km between Marseille and Paris . Despite the difficulties and resistance encountered, their movement will bring about a real boost of hope in the way of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. They unite with their arrival more than 100 000 people from all walks of life and give France its new face.
    More...
  • The Broken Landlord
    The Broken Landlord
    1985-04-07
    The landowner (Agha) of the Haraptar village marries off his old father with the young and beautiful Kiraz. But on the nuptial night, his father dies and everything starts to go bad for the Agha. Due to the long drought and provocations of Kekec Salman (big brother of Kiraz), the peasants steal the crops and run away to Istanbul. Without the peasants and crops, Agha is also forced to sell the village and move to Istanbul. But he cannot keep up with the big city life and consumes all his money and belongings. Agha's wife and relatives leave him during this downfall.
    More...
  • Pilgrim's Progress
    Pilgrim's Progress
    1978-04-05
    Journey with Pilgrim to the Celestial City, as John Bunyan's famous allegory leaps from its pages into movie from. You'll experience the Slough of Despond, the Hill of Difficulty, Vanity Fair; Meet Pliable, Mr. Obstinate, Worldly Wiseman, Evangelist, Mr. Interpreter, and Pilgrim's constant foe, Apollyon. Follow Pilgrim to the Cross, where he finds real sanctification. A powerful visualization of the Christian life.
    More...
  • Poetical Refugee
    Poetical Refugee
    2001-02-14
    Like a Candide dreaming of Eldorado, Jallel lands in France, hoping to try his luck. From encounter to encounter, hostel to social welfare group, Jallel will make his way through a Paris of outcasts. Although failing to achieve his hopes, he discovers and shares in the solidarity felt by the destitute. –uniFrance
    More...
  • L'Oranais
    L'Oranais
    2014-11-19
    During the first euphoric years following independence, two friends, Djaffar and Hamid, are promised a bright future in a free Algeria until one day when betrayal separates them.
    More...
  • This Is Not a Comedy
    This Is Not a Comedy
    2021-10-05
    A comedian finds new meaning in his life when his best friend asks him to be her sperm donor, and he meets a girl who connects with the cosmos.
    More...
  • The Vikings
    The Vikings
    1958-06-11
    Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.
    More...
  • Days of Glory
    Days of Glory
    2006-09-27
    1943. They have never stepped foot on French soil but because France was at war, Said, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir enlist in the French Army, along with 130,000 other “indigenous” soldiers, to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. Heroes that history has forgotten…
    More...
  • Once Were Warriors
    Once Were Warriors
    1994-09-02
    A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.
    More...
  • On Body and Soul
    On Body and Soul
    2017-03-02
    Two introverted people find out by pure chance that they share the same dream every night. They are puzzled, incredulous, a bit frightened. As they hesitantly accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their dream.
    More...
  • The Crucifixion
    The Crucifixion
    2017-04-27
    When a priest is jailed for the murder of a nun on whom he was performing an exorcism, an investigative journalist strives to determine whether he in fact murdered a mentally ill person, or if he lost the battle with a demonic presence.
    More...
  • Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2
    Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2
    2012-02-22
    Merliah Summers, a mermaid from Oceana, travels to Australia for a surfing competition. But when she learns that the evil Eris is planning to take over her kingdom, she must stop her at any cost.
    More...
  • Tunnel
    Tunnel
    2016-08-10
    A man is on his way home when the poorly constructed tunnel he is driving through collapses, leaving him trapped leaving himself for the unexpected whilst emergency services struggle to help.
    More...
  • Munich – The Edge of War
    Munich – The Edge of War
    2021-12-31
    At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
    More...
  • Last Man Down
    Last Man Down
    2021-03-30
    After civilization succumbs to a deadly pandemic and his wife is murdered, a special forces soldier abandons his duty and becomes a hermit in the Nordic wilderness. Years later, a wounded woman appears on his doorstep. She's escaped from a lab and her pursuers believe her blood is the key to a worldwide cure. He's hesitant to get involved, but all doubts are cast aside when he discovers her pursuer is none other than Commander Stone, the man that murdered his wife some years ago.
    More...
  • Youth
    Youth
    2015-05-20
    Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena, Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda. And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy, an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?
    More...
  • Last Action Hero
    Last Action Hero
    1993-06-18
    After his father's death, a young boy finds solace in action movies featuring an indestructible cop. Given a magic ticket by a theater manager, he is transported into the film and teams up with the cop to stop a villain who escapes into the real world.
    More...
  • Enemy at the Gates
    Enemy at the Gates
    2001-02-28
    A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.
    More...
  • Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
    Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
    2002-01-30
    History's favorite Gauls assist Queen Cleopatra when she wagers that the Egyptian people can build a palace for Julius Caesar in just three months.
    More...

Similar Movies