happy-bunny I watched this film on French TV recently, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'll admit the main reason I watched this was Romain Duris, who I was so impressed with in De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté. This is actually a really good movie, the music especially really fits well with the scenarios, which is what one would expect from a film by Tony Gatlif. The direction is good and the story is told at quite a pace, so you won't get bored.I watched this without subtitles but that didn't cause me a problem at all. Some parts are really funny (i.e. Zano trying to talk Spanish) and others really sad (Zano crying). I'd certainly recommend watching it especially if you fancy something different from the hum-drum American-ised film style. I really enjoyed seeing this, as it isn't entirely dependant on language, but instead has scenes where the emphasis is on movement, vocalisation and music.After I watched this I found I kept thinking about it - always the mark of a film that connects with you in some shape or form. However, I warn you, this film may give you the urge to go road-tripping to Algeria. 8/10

gitane82 I had been waiting to watch this movie for at least 6 months,since the French cultural center in Jordan announced the programme of the monthly screening of a french movie. My enthusiasm came from my acquaintance with Tony Gatlif's music through the soundtrack of his movie "Vengo" which will always be one of my all times favorites; so full of passion and authenticity. Also later on I purchased Swing's OST of which I had the chance to watch only the last scenes on TV. So this time I was waiting -or couldn't wait- to live the complete experience of Gatlif's blend of music & images. I have NEVER left in the middle of a movie,no matter how horrifying or boring it was, and it is really disappointing for this to be my first time for a film i was so impatient to see. I found the sexuality to be greatly disturbing, but I actually left because it seemed like it was the only thing that was going on. For the first hour of the movie very little music was played (for a movie for which the main raison d'etre is the music itself!). As a viewer I didn't enjoy any of the scenery as the couple traveled, nothing impressive,characteristic or memorable. Same would go for the actors' performance. So instead of walking out with my soul drenched with great universal music, I walked "away" in a terrible frame of mind. Truly a painful and a shocking experience. I have rated 2 instead of 1 (awful)for the sake of the only soundtrack I really enjoyed (and had the chance to listen to before I left), which is the flamenco at the bar scene. I wish there was more of this passionate music through the first half of the movie for I would have stayed till the end. I don't mind a certain degree of sexuality and a plot less movie as long as the cinematography and the enchanting music would make up for everything.

Marcin Kukuczka I saw EXILS in the Polish cinema recently as a part of the sequence "psycho vibrations" with a group of students. After the movie, we had a little chat together with the organizer of the meeting. Most of us agreed that the movie by Tony Gatlif is different than most of the films we see nowadays. Although EXILS is in no way outstanding, there are some aspects worth mentioning, the things that make it a must see for open minded viewers but, at the same time, it may be a huge moral spoiler.Music is, I think, the most important aspect that needs to be mentioned. The viewer is supplied with a wonderful musical experience throughout the whole movie, is provided with the experience of various sorts of music, from Techno through Flamenco, yet to the Algerian trance. As a result, you, in a sense, take part in the experience that the main characters, real music lovers, get through. You watch the movie and let yourself be drown into the perfect music. The most intense experience moment is when they dance in Algeria, the trance is becoming more and more intensified at every single second. It very much affects the audience.Besides, the movie quite accurately presents the reality of immigrants, the problems they have to cope with, and the culture clash. Although the emphasis is drawn to a couple, Naima (Lubna Azabal) and Zano (Romain Duris), the major topic of their plot is being on the way from France to Algieria in order to find origins. On their way, they meet various people, most of them are immigrants who left their homelands in the hope for a better life. They are like the violin masoned in the wall, as it is showed in a symbolic scene when Zano masons his violin. In this case, the film seems to be a voice for the ignored but this message is not so clearly noticeable.SPOILER: Stereotypically perhaps, due to the fact that EXILS is a French movie, there must be some nudity, which is a serious moral spoiler. But people who overdo with Puritan blame directed towards any sex scenes will not find much accusation in EXILS. There are very few moments that openly show naked Naima and Zano. Some are not appropriate and disturbing, like the first shot of the movie, but some are not that bad. For example, the scene when they are making love in the garden is fairly well made, it is not vulgar but totally filled with sexuality directing our attention to the pleasure of the couple. And, moreover, I found apples pretty symbolic in this scene.SPOILER: The movie, however, does not make much use of the locations and landscapes that the main characters visit. It is only said that they are in Spain but hardly anything is showed. There is only a landscape of Andalusian territories noticeable as Naima and Zano are traveling by train and a moment look at Paris, but that is it. Therefore, it is not true that you will have a chance to admire various places in this movie.SPOILER: And the content of the movie does not have much to offer. It is an attempt to show the life without any more profound sense, without any spirituality. The only "god" for the main characters is music. Consider how Zano replies to the question of a Muslim who is keen on their religion - "My religion is music". Therefore, EXILS does not show life as a moral value whatsoever. It appears to be nothing more than time spent on realizing loose habits, fulfilling sexual desires, and listening to music as the best relaxation. As a result, the life of main characters is not that much an individual freedom any longer but moves towards sheer anarchy.Nevertheless, the whole movie is worth seeing as a different look at values and at filming convention. Although it is not a memorable movie in general, some moments may remain in memory. We are all hidden in this world like the violin masoned in the wall. The gist is to find the sense of life and what the sense will be depends entirely on every individual. And a must for music lovers! 6/10!

111-1111---Lois---DAMN I saw this film at the Chicago International Film Festival, and I must say that I enjoyed it. I was really skeptical because I had thought that all French movies were just stupid sex-filled movies. Sure, this film has its share of nudity, but it doesn't distract from the story. You know nothing about these characters once the film starts except that they like to eat and drink naked in an apartment. For the next 1.5 hours you get to know little snippets from the past of their lives and hope to know more about what they want and what they need. On the path to Algeria, they evolve more as friends and as people to the audience, and not just as techno-music-blaring punks. By the climax of the film, the true characters come out of their young shells. They deal with their past in emotional ways (I won't spoil it) and leave the audience with a sense of accomplishment as the credits roll.I do have complaints that stem from the way it was presented. First of all, the subtitles in the version I saw were inconsistent, meaning that sometimes people would speak and I would see no subtitles. Otherwise, this is a great movie that I highly recommend.movie 9.7/10 presentation 8.7/10