Hi Cousin! (1996)

Salut Cousin! is the tale of two Algerian cousins and their mishaps in the racially volatile environment of Paris.

Director:

Merzak Allouache

Writers:

Merzak Allouache, Caroline Thivel

Stars:

Gad Elmaleh, Messaoud Hattau, Magaly Berdy

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gad Elmaleh	...	Alilo
Messaoud Hattau	...	Mok (as Mess Hattou)
Magaly Berdy	...	Fatoumata
Ann-Gisel Glass	...	Laurence
Jean Benguigui	...	Maurice
Xavier Maly	...	Claude
Cheik Doukouré	...	Le voisin
Mohamed Ourdache	...	Rachid
Dalila Renault	...	Malika
Fatiha Cheriguene	...	Tante Adjia
Malek Kateb	...	Oncle Mohamed
Arno Chevrier	...	Goudrand
Mostefa Djadjam	...	Jo le barman
Faisal Attia	...	Présentateur rap
Guy Amram	...	Ghetteur

Storyline

Alilo arrives in Paris, met by his hip cousin Mok. Alilo is to pick up a suitcase of dresses to smuggle back to Algiers for resale. He's lost the dressmaker's address and his boss is gone for five days, so he stays in the Moskova neighborhood of the 18th arrondissement with Mok. Mok makes rap music of Jean de La Fontaine's fables, invents fabrications of his own, is in debt to his bookie, and in love with a punk rocker. Alilo's old-country sweetness, in contrast with Mok's big-city neuroses, gets the attention of Fatoumata, a lovely African neighbor. Once Alilo gets the dresses, he must return to Algiers, but it seems he's only started to live: is there any way he can stay?

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Plot Keywords:

female neighbor | reference to algeria | suitcase | falling in love | friendship | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Awards:

• Prix de la Bourse d'Aide du Festival International de Montpellier, avec le concours de la société Agfa
• Prix des Critiques Arabes au Festival de Cannes 1996

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Connections

Follows Bab El Oued City (1994)

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Soundtracks

Omri madanit

User Reviews

Greetings from Alger

I happened to see this film on TV and I'm happy of it! It is a touching story of a young Algerian man, Alilo, who comes to Paris and wants to meet his relatives who have immigrated there years ago. He meets his cousin Mok who pretends to be the succesful person of his family. At first, Alilo believes him but finds out the truth when he visits the family. Nothing is like Mok has said. The film is very realistic, sometimes almost depressing. Alilo, who is used to people disappearing and getting killed in Algeria, expects France to be a paradise. But living there as an immigrant isn't such easy. Still, these people love Paris. The cultural differences between the native Algerians and the immigrated ones become clear through the film. Alilo, who never has spoken to a girl outside the family, falls in the first one who speaks to him. Parisians seem very free to him and he seems very clumsy to them. In fact, he's a very nice and polite young man who tries to learn what he can on his adventerous trip.

How is it going to end?

Details

Country:

France Algeria Belgium Luxembourg

Language:

French Arabic

Release Date:

21 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hi Cousin!

Filming Locations:

Hôpital, 78 rue du Général Leclerc, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Val-de-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artémis Productions, Canal+, Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1