Reviews (4) 
Letting go doesn't mean forgetting...
Tunisian director Karim Dridi's 1996 film looks at Arab immigrants in the French port city of Marseilles trying to raise their French-born children in a nation that shuns them as unwanted immigrants. Ismael (Sami Bouajila) tries to care for his younger brother Mouloud (Ouassini Embarek) after their crippled brother Nouredine dies in a fire. The brothers move to Marseilles where an uncle lives in the ghetto. "Bye Bye" works as both a plea for racial tolerance and a haunting look at the dislocation families suffer when they pack up and move to a new land with a different culture. We have seen this before to be sure, but there is quite a difference between plucky immigrants coming to the land of opportunity in America and North African Arabs moving to France. Indeed, Ismael sees this move as a chance for a new beginning, but after getting a job as a dockworker and befriending Jacky (Frederic Andrau), a French co-worker, his dreams are shattered by encounters with Jacky's racist brother (Philippe Ambrosini). Meanwhile, Mouloud has taken to life on the streets, seduced by the easy money of drug-running with his cousin Rhida (Sofiane Mammeri). Of course, Ismael will make a desperate attempt to save his brother from ruining his life. "Bye Bye" is Dridi's second film and it is quite reminiscent of "Kids," "Salaam Bombay" and "Pixote" in showing modern teen life. He has one particularly fine sequence when he does a scene in a drug-dealer's apartment in a single take. The performances from the North African cast are quite good; Sami Bouajila was named Best Actor at the Thessaloniki Film Festival for his performance as Ismael and certainly it is the center of this film. Even if "Bye Bye" does not especially break new ground in terms of form and content, certainly it draws attention to this particular type of culture clash in that specific part of the globe. "Letting go doesn't mean forgetting" is the simple but elegant tagline for the film.
Two brothers struggle
An interesting movie about the life of immigrants living in a strange land. Although the story takes place in France and North Africa the theme is universal and applies to immigrants everywhere. The story evolves primarily around the lives of two brothers who try to survive in the urban jungle. The paths they take are different and the strength of family ties are needed to overcome the adversity the brothers encounter. The portrayl of the strong family that crosses several generations gives interesting insight into the problems of different values and perceptions of different age groups living under one roof. This is a good movie to understand a cultural phenomenon that takes place world wide. Although based on from what others have said in their reviews, it is very accurate for area specific realism. There is some violence but tame by comparison to American "gangsta" movies. Very interesting slice of life abroad.
a true portrayal of life in France today
One of the best films of the Beur genre I've seen to date. I have lived within such a community, and it is about as real and unaffected a portrait of life in the ever increasingly right-wing France as one can see. The sous-titrage is rather lame, especially of the slang, and attempts to translate word plays on the word beur are totally unsuccessful. I'm not sure how it would be interpreted by someone relying soley on the subtitles, but it would surely be confusing, if not down-right cheesy. Some of the Arabic dialogue spoken around the house, albeit simple stuff, like "do you want some soup" etc., isn't even translated, which I found irritating. Beautifully directed and acted, Karim Dridi is sure to be given the credit he is due here in the United States soon.
how can we make it as north africans in France?
This is a very good movie about the conditions of young North Africans in France. Very different from "La Haine," ("Hate") in style, this movie effectively presents how young "beurs" have to constantly navigate between the world of the home (with its family traditions and its expectations) and the sometimes hostile outside French community who sees young "Maghrebins" as menaces. This is an important movie-testimonial about an often overlooked social issue in contemporary France. Highly recommended.
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