| Cylia Malki | ... | Rallia | |
| Baya Belal | ... | Nedjma | |
| Jean-Roger Milo | ... | Djibril | |
| Fatima Ben Saïdane | ... | La femme répudiée | |
| Deborah Lamy | ... | Kaltoum | |
| Brahim Ben Salah | ... | Le grand-père | |
| Samira Draa | ... | Souad | |
| Mostefa Zerguine | ... | Chauffeur car 1 | |
| Habib Zrafi | ... | Routier | |
| Lotfi Yahya Jedidi | ... | Chauffeur bus 2 (as Lotfi Yahya) |
Directed by | |||
| Mehdi Charef | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Mehdi Charef | screenplay | |
Original Music by | |||
| Bernardo Sandoval | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Alain Levent | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Kenout Peltier | |||
Casting by | |||
| Patrick Hella | |||
| Marie Legardeur | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Taoufik Behi | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Maïka Guézel | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Françoise Duplaissy | .... | key makeup artist | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Véronique Labrid | .... | first assistant director | |
Sound Department | |||
| Sarah Anderson | .... | dialogue editor | |
| Ricardo Castro | .... | sound | |
| Thierry Lebon | .... | sound mixer | |
| Armelle Mahé | .... | assistant sound mixer | |
| Armelle Mahé | .... | dialogue recordist | |
| Henri Morelle | .... | sound | |
| Seppe van Groeningen | .... | boom operator | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Sarah Anderson | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Masako Hirsh | .... | musician: flute | |
| Toni Marcos | .... | musician: percussion | |
| Malik Richeux | .... | musician: violin | |
Other crew | |||
| Virginie Barbay | .... | script supervisor | |
| Jean-Marie Modet | .... | assistant location manager | |
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| Ali Zaoua, prince de la rue | Un été à La Goulette | Le fils d'Amr est mort | Bab el shams | West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants) |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb France section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Riveting and moving, this is a culture clash road-movie with shades of both 'Thelma & Louise' and 'Rabbit Proof Fence'.
Rallia, a young North African brought up in Switzerland by adoptive parents, arrives in the country of her birth to find Keltoum, the woman she believes abandoned her as a baby.
In the mountainous desert where the bus driver drops her, she first encounters members of her family: a gentle old man, her grandfather, and a terrified woman who turns out to be her mother's sister. But Keltoum herself remains elusive. Working in a luxury hotel in the city, she supposedly visits every week.
Rallia begins to take part in her new-found family's life. Her initially circumspect aunt becomes a companion, and accompanying her on her water rounds is a revelation.
But Rallia waits in vain for her mother to arrive and, feeling betrayed by her family's lies, decides to leave and look for her. On impulse she encourages her aunt to join her, and the two set off on a trip full of danger, adventure and a rather steep learning curve.
Having grown up taking European wealth and freedom for granted, it comes as a shock to Rallia (and the 'Western' viewer) when she experiences life in the raw: highway robbery in aid of basic survival, childbirth on a rocky outcrop, a woman being abandoned by her husband on the roadside, male violence towards a girl wearing make-up. And when she finally confronts her mother, she is in for a deeply cathartic lesson in humility.
Yet there are also moments of great empowerment when her European self-confidence allows her to take the bull by the horns, so to say.
I found KELTOUM'S DAUGHTER full of fascinating insight into North African culture, custom and costume while being kept on the edge of my seat by a riveting adventure and moved by a tale of personal discovery. I thoroughly enjoyed it!