L'Ennemi Intime
Encyclopedia
L'Ennemi intime is a 2007 French war film
, directed by Florent Emilio Siri
, starring Benoît Magimel
, Albert Dupontel
and Mohamed Fellag
. It was filmed in France and Morocco
.
), an inexperienced and naïve junior French Army
officer, has volunteered for active service, rather than a safe staff post in Algiers
. He is posted to Kabylia, a remote and mountainous region of Algeria
, as a replacement for Lieutenant Constantin (Hicham Hlimi) who was killed during a ‘friendly fire
’ incident commanding a counter-insurgency
ambush operation – i.e. he was accidentally killed by his own side during a confused fire-fight. The war in Algeria is much more complicated than Lieutenant Terrien anticipated as he takes over command of his new platoon at the outpost "Mazel". Within hours of taking over his new command Terrien is ordered to lead a ‘locate and destroy’ mission into the zone interdite (the 'Forbidden Zone') to find a World War II
French Army veteran named Slimane, now a local commander of Algerian rebels trying to win the independence of their homeland. Slimane is never seen in person during the film.
When the Fellagha
(Algerian insurgents) massacre the population of a local village in retaliation for a patrol visit from Terrien’s platoon, on the assumption that the villagers may have collaborated with the French, Terrien vows to remain calm and professional despite the appalling horrors that greet him. Terrien saves a young boy from drowning in the village well and is gradually forced to see the conflict through the eyes of that child: a child who temporarily adopts the French soldiers almost as a surrogate family. The boy ultimately plays a major role in Terrien’s death towards the end of the film. Terrien’s determination to remain detached, professional and controlled despite the atrocities that occur around him, including the torture
, abuse and summary execution
of Algerian prisoners, quickly gains him the initial contempt of Sergeant Dougnac (Albert Dupontel
) his combat-hardened and cynical platoon sergeant, who has come to the conclusion that the level of violence employed by the Fellaghas can only be countered by equally brutal measures
applied by the French.
The blooding of the young Lieutenant and the way in which he reacts to his newfound knowledge and experience provides the dramatic arc of L’Ennemi intime. Terrien’s idealistic view of French involvement in Algeria is summed up during a conversation with Captain Berthaut (Marc Barbé), an intelligence officer, when Terrien argues that as metropolitan French citizens the Algerians should enjoy the same political rights as any other French citizen and states that “You can’t fight barbarism with barbarism”. Berthaut, identified as a former member of the French Resistance
who was tortured by the Gestapo
, a veteran of the French Indochina War
and an old comrade-in-arms of Dougnac, disagrees and later in the film, states that, “At 110 volts the truth always comes out”. Berthaut is killed and mutilated during a Fellaghist ambush as he attempts to evacuate a wounded soldier out of the ‘Forbidden Zone’ by jeep. In view of such atrocities, Terrien slowly begins to change his view.
Dougnac, identified within the film as a veteran of French Indochina
, is a complicated character who is not averse to resorting to torture and barbarism when it comes to dealing with insurgents yet is capable, professional and increasingly privately respectful of Terrien as an officer and as a man. Their professional differences and the harsh realities of operations in the field, however, drive the two men to breaking point with Dougnac finding release through alcohol and at least one instance of self-inflicted torture. Such are the pressures on Dougnac that he finally snaps and deserts the army. Lost in an undeclared, and dirty, war, Terrien and Dougnac discover that their worst enemy is often themselves.
reports that 54% of 13 critics have given the film a positive review. As of 2010, IMDb grades the movie at 6.8/10.
The film was nominated for three César Awards during the 2008 award season
:
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
, directed by Florent Emilio Siri
Florent Emilio Siri
Florent Emilio Siri is a French film director born in Lorraine.He studied cinema at the Sorbonne University and ESRA in Paris....
, starring Benoît Magimel
Benoît Magimel
Benoît Magimel is a French actor. A prolific actor who was 14 when he appeared in his first film, Magimel has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema....
, Albert Dupontel
Albert Dupontel
Albert Dupontel is a French actor and film director. He started his career as a stand-up comedian...
and Mohamed Fellag
Fellag
Mohamed Saïd Fellag is an Algerian comedian, writer and humorist. He did his primary studies in Azeffoun and his secondary studies in Ali Mellah secondary school in Draa el Mizan...
. It was filmed in France and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Plot
The film is set in 1959 during the Algerian War. Lieutenant Terrien (Benoît MagimelBenoît Magimel
Benoît Magimel is a French actor. A prolific actor who was 14 when he appeared in his first film, Magimel has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema....
), an inexperienced and naïve junior French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
officer, has volunteered for active service, rather than a safe staff post in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. He is posted to Kabylia, a remote and mountainous region of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, as a replacement for Lieutenant Constantin (Hicham Hlimi) who was killed during a ‘friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
’ incident commanding a counter-insurgency
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
ambush operation – i.e. he was accidentally killed by his own side during a confused fire-fight. The war in Algeria is much more complicated than Lieutenant Terrien anticipated as he takes over command of his new platoon at the outpost "Mazel". Within hours of taking over his new command Terrien is ordered to lead a ‘locate and destroy’ mission into the zone interdite (the 'Forbidden Zone') to find a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
French Army veteran named Slimane, now a local commander of Algerian rebels trying to win the independence of their homeland. Slimane is never seen in person during the film.
When the Fellagha
Fellagha
The Fellagha, an Arabic word literally meaning "bandit", but also comes from "fellah" or farmer, and "fallaq" or blow up, refers to groups of armed militants affiliated with anti-colonial movements in French North Africa...
(Algerian insurgents) massacre the population of a local village in retaliation for a patrol visit from Terrien’s platoon, on the assumption that the villagers may have collaborated with the French, Terrien vows to remain calm and professional despite the appalling horrors that greet him. Terrien saves a young boy from drowning in the village well and is gradually forced to see the conflict through the eyes of that child: a child who temporarily adopts the French soldiers almost as a surrogate family. The boy ultimately plays a major role in Terrien’s death towards the end of the film. Terrien’s determination to remain detached, professional and controlled despite the atrocities that occur around him, including the torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, abuse and summary execution
Summary execution
A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
of Algerian prisoners, quickly gains him the initial contempt of Sergeant Dougnac (Albert Dupontel
Albert Dupontel
Albert Dupontel is a French actor and film director. He started his career as a stand-up comedian...
) his combat-hardened and cynical platoon sergeant, who has come to the conclusion that the level of violence employed by the Fellaghas can only be countered by equally brutal measures
Torture during the Algerian War
Elements of the French Armed Forces as well as of the opposing Algerian National Liberation Front made use of torture during the Algerian War of Independence , creating an ongoing public controversy. Pierre Vidal-Naquet estimates that there were "possibly hundreds of thousands of instances of...
applied by the French.
The blooding of the young Lieutenant and the way in which he reacts to his newfound knowledge and experience provides the dramatic arc of L’Ennemi intime. Terrien’s idealistic view of French involvement in Algeria is summed up during a conversation with Captain Berthaut (Marc Barbé), an intelligence officer, when Terrien argues that as metropolitan French citizens the Algerians should enjoy the same political rights as any other French citizen and states that “You can’t fight barbarism with barbarism”. Berthaut, identified as a former member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
who was tortured by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, a veteran of the French Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and an old comrade-in-arms of Dougnac, disagrees and later in the film, states that, “At 110 volts the truth always comes out”. Berthaut is killed and mutilated during a Fellaghist ambush as he attempts to evacuate a wounded soldier out of the ‘Forbidden Zone’ by jeep. In view of such atrocities, Terrien slowly begins to change his view.
Dougnac, identified within the film as a veteran of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, is a complicated character who is not averse to resorting to torture and barbarism when it comes to dealing with insurgents yet is capable, professional and increasingly privately respectful of Terrien as an officer and as a man. Their professional differences and the harsh realities of operations in the field, however, drive the two men to breaking point with Dougnac finding release through alcohol and at least one instance of self-inflicted torture. Such are the pressures on Dougnac that he finally snaps and deserts the army. Lost in an undeclared, and dirty, war, Terrien and Dougnac discover that their worst enemy is often themselves.
Production
L'Ennemi intime, co-written by Florent Emilio Siri and Patrick Rotman, a French historian, documentary film-maker and screen-writer, is set during the French Algerian War and was inspired by Patrick Rotman's non-fiction book, La guerre sans nom (The Undeclared War) published in 1992, and subsequent French television documentary (L'Ennemi intime co-written with the director Bertrand Tavernier and originally broadcast in March 2002 by France3). The Rotman-Tavernier documentary focused on the psychological effects of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) on French soldiers who served in the conflict, the impact of French military tactics and extrajudicial actions and included on-camera interviews with French veterans speaking about their experiences of the so-called undeclared war.Reception
Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 54% of 13 critics have given the film a positive review. As of 2010, IMDb grades the movie at 6.8/10.
The film was nominated for three César Awards during the 2008 award season
César Awards 2008
The 2008 César Awards were the 32nd edition of the biggest annual film awards in France. The ceremony took place in the Théâtre du Châtelet on 22 February 2008; it was presented by Antoine de Caunes.-Winners and nominees:...
:
- Best Cinematography - Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci
- Best Music Written for a Film - Alexandre DesplatAlexandre DesplatAlexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
- Best Sound - Antoine Deflandre, Germain Boulay and Eric Tisserand
External links
- Intimate Enemies at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Intimate Enemies at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Intimate Enemies at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Intimate Enemies at Allmovie