Inch'Allah Dimanche

WOW. Phenomenal acting by Fejria Deliba (her eyes bespeak volumes), a potent character study, largely autobiographical from Algerian-French director Yamina Benguigui. By the end I felt like I knew this woman. ***Spoiler Alert***. Portrait of the lowest of the low, an Algerian wife, an immigrant abused by both her husband and mother-in-law, and looked down upon by xenophobic French neighbors. But this is a PERSON, with a hungry mind and heart, and a backbone. Through the kindness of others (French folks with eyes with which to see and hearts with which to feel) she begins to imagine what might be, what ought to be. She begins to rebel, at first mostly in secret. The title means "Sunday, Allah Willing" and refers to the one day a week Zouina's husband takes his mother out for the day, Zouina's day of freedom. Her change is incremental, sometimes painful, but finally glorious. I cried and felt like cheering at the end. The ending reminded me a bit of The Graduate's, but better. And The Color Purple. But there's an additional layer of becoming enchanted and enriched by a new, initially mystifying culture- an intriguing (and accurate) depiction of acculturation. Every victim of domestic violence, anyone who's been told they're nothing should see this. Fantastic.

This was a good movie to show to my French AP class. There's only one scene where the lady takes her dress off, but has a slip underneath- so no nudity, no sex, which is not always possible in a French film. There IS some domestic violence which is hard to watch (though more intimated than graphic). Overall, it helps segue into modern-day France and immigration.

Sometimes it is difficult to watch the clashing of cultures as happens in this movie. An Algerian family moves to France and attempts to live within the confines of their culture. The husband and mother-in-law control family life, while the wife, Zouina, is expected to remain hidden at home and serve them. Into Zouina's life comes a kindly widow and a fun loving neighbor and through them she discovers her own inner strength. The conclusion came quick and without a great deal of explanation.

I love this film for exposing my French students to Algerian immigration in France. My high school level 1 saw this around movie around spring break time when I was out for a surgery and they were riveted. They couldn't stop talking about the ending! This film lead to great discussions and was a good hook for talking about the burkini ban, the ban on religious symbols in school, etc. Highly recommend!

This movie is a nice combination of Arabic and French. The subject matter is very traditional in its representation and shows many of the pitfalls that women fall into when relocating to another country with different language and culture present. It was a good movie and provided a window into an experience that is without question still occurring in France and other countries.

Very few movies depict the conditions of these wives (and kids) brought from Algeria into cold, rainy and not-so-kind France, in the 60s,70s and even 80s. They often didn't even know their husbands, or barely, as marriages were arranged by letter and phone calls between families in France and in Algeria. In fact it may be the only one that really shows what these women had to bear. It's a great movie.

It's an interesting story and a well made movie. I am not sure how plausible the end was, but it's probably better to make a stand sometimes then go with the status quo.I think Zouina knew this and acted according.

It is interesting to see the life of Algerian women transplanted in France in the 1970s, however, depressing to see how they are oppressed. It's a harsh reality, but good to understand some perspective of what some of these women go through when they become immigrants.

Le film est très bien et ne manque pas d'émotions. Et il y a aussi plein de bonus, ce qui est très intéressant.