French-Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis takes the helm for this intimate study in identity loss, disenfranchisement, and the search for inner peace concerning a thirty-something Frenchman of Algerian origin who longs to find his place in early-21st Century France. Yacine (Samir Guesmi) has abandoned his family home in the projects in order to live on his own in a cramped trailer. Though Yacine is something of a social worker, he specifically shuns the prospect of landing a permanent job for fear that his life will grow stagnant and dull. Later, as Yacine walks the city streets at night meeting with friends, listening to ethnic music, and generally soaking in the local color, a series of conversations gradually bring the nomadic city-dweller's mysterious past into focus.
by Jason Buchanan
synopsis
