NUIT NOIRE, 17 OCTOBRE 1961 {OCTOBER 17, 1961} {FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES} (TV)
Summary
This historical drama film depicts the events during the Algerian War leading up to and including the Paris massacre of October 17, 1961, in which French police attacked groups of unarmed Algerian demonstrators. The program begins as a French policeman, Martin, leaves for work and finds his door vandalized with threats from the FLN, the Algerian National Liberation Front. Elsewhere, Tarek comes home in the morning as his nephew Abde departs for work, avoiding the cops as he does so. In the seventeenth arrondissement, Sabine works at her job as a reporter, and Martin hears over the news that President Charles de Gaulle has vowed not to claim ownership of the Sahara desert. When a Moroccan man reports his van stolen, Martin's coworker treats him with disdain. In a Nanterre shantytown, several Algerian radicals discuss potential targets for attack, wanting to focus on a certain police department in the 18th and debating the necessary levels of violence. Martin tells his coworker that he intends to leave the force because of the escalating danger, and they hear a news report stating that de Gaulle has just survived an attack on his life. Abde endures racist treatment at work and then hurries off to class, but arrives too late. His young teacher, Marie-Hèléne, notices that he has been beaten and tends to his injuries.
Sabine is surprised at home by her friend Nathalie, who asks her to store subversive leaflets for a few days. Sabine objects, but Nathalie accuses her of callous indifference to the turmoil. Martin's fellow cops harass an Algerian man on the street, and when Abde's boss, Lucien, hears that he was also beaten by "le flic," he fires off an angry letter to the chief of police, Papon, to object. A few days later, the radicals attack the police station with guns and explosives, killing one, and when Papon hears the news, he declares that any Algerians caught in the act of committing violence should be shot on sight. Abde rescues his uncle when he is threatened by a cop demanding money, and Martin attempts to reconnect with his wife Isabelle. He writes his resignation letter and prepares to send it, but he is shocked into reconsideration when his friend Level is gunned down on the street by an FLN member. Nathalie is shaken when she hears about Level, but her compatriot Maurice argues that such violent incidents are to be expected in war and will motivate France to desire peace, and she helps him to create a fake French passport. Papon sternly addresses a group of cops, including Martin, telling them to take any actions necessary against the Algerians and promising that they will be "covered."
Abde prepares for an exam in Marie-Hèléne's class, and Tarek teases him about his romantic feelings for his teacher. When a neighbor begins asking questions, Nathalie takes Maurice to Sabine's home and asks if he may hide there, though Sabine is resentful and states that it is "not her war." As Tarek repairs his moped on the street after work, several policemen kidnap him and, despite his protestations of innocence, they murder him and throw him in the Seine as Martin watches uncomfortably. Papon decides to create a curfew for all dark-skinned people, though he is forced to make it a "strong recommendation" rather than an official law, and the FLN members read the news in the paper and wait for Maurice's new instructions. Abde tells Marie-Hèléne that Tarek is missing and she accompanies him to the police station, but the cops treat them both with extreme disrespect and Abde tells her that it is hopeless. Sabine is surprised to find many of Maurice's FLN friends in her home, upset that they have ignored Nathalie's illness in favor of other "priorities." Maurice is driven to the border and escapes into Germany, and he meets with some comrades in Cologne who scold him for his repeated violent actions. Omar tells him that killing random policemen is useless and only fuels Papon's desire for bloodshed, and despite Maurice's objections, they decide to stage a massive peaceful demonstration at which weapons are forbidden, set to take place on October 17.
Abde's boss inquires about his test, but Abde demurs that it was all for "nothing." Maurice and his fellows decide that it the demonstration is mandatory for all Algerian men, and Papon immediately calls the Minister of the Interior when he hears the news and receives "carte blanche" to stop the march. He details his plans for sealing off the suburbs and the metro exits, and Martin and his fellow cops arm themselves as Abde and the other Algerian men are frisked for weapons and shot if they refuse to participate. Nathalie and Maurice anxiously wait for updates and the police barricade Neuilly Bridge, and Sabine scrambles to report on the developing story. At the same time, the police search buses and detain anyone who even appears Algerian, taking them to a "sorting area." When the Algerians arrive at Neuilly Bridge, the police attack and beat them even though they are unarmed, even throwing some people into the Seine. At St. Michel, Sabine is horrified to witness Abde being gunned down, and Maurice receives reports of many Algerian causalities and arrests. At the "sorting area," the men are stripped of their papers and personal belongings, and Papon dictates a statement about the police's rational response to the Algerians' violent uprising.
A doctor is brought in to inspect the gravely wounded Algerians, including Abde, and he is shocked at the lack of medical supplies and equipment. Papon learns that the press coverage of the incident is "mostly positive" and does not mention the police brutality, though Martin gets into a fight with a fellow cop who refuses to lie about shooting unarmed protestors. A traumatized Sabine tells her colleague about witnessing the beatings and killings, and a sergeant approaches the newspaper editor, wanting to tell the truth. Some of the Algerians return to Nanterre with serious injuries and without their friends, and Marie-Hèléne is upset to learn that Abde never returned home, then discovering that he passed his test. Sabine is forbidden to show the footage of Abde's shooting on the air, learning that de Gaulle called the death toll "minor but acceptable," and when Papon hears about the growing rumors, he holds a press conference to denounce the "insults" to his policemen, dodging questions about the murders and suspicious deaths of Algerians at police headquarters. Sabine attempts to screen her riot footage for the press, but the film is confiscated by police, and in Nanterre, the names of the many missing and deported are read out. The film closes by stating that no official enquiry was ever held, and the total number of Algerians killed is guessed to be between 50 and 200.
Details
- NETWORK: Cipango (France)
- DATE: June 7, 2005
- RUNNING TIME: 1:48:18
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 108340
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; France - Foreign relations - Algeria; Algeria - History - Revolution, 1954-1962
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Thomas Anargyros … Producer
- Edouard de Vésinne … Producer
- Alain Tasma … Director, Writer
- Patrick Rotman … Writer
- François-Olivier Rousseau … Writer
- Cyril Morin … Music by
- Clotilde Courau … Cast, Sabine
- Thierry Fortineau … Cast, Papon
- Jean-Michel Portal … Cast, Martin
- Ouassini Embarek … Cast, Abde
- Atmen Kelif … Cast, Tarek
- Florence Thomassin … Cast, Nathalie
- Vahina Giocante … Cast, Marie-Hélène
- Serge Riaboukine … Cast, Tierce
- Jalil Naciri … Cast, Maurice
- Aurelien Recoing … Cast, Somveille
- Jean-Michel Fete … Cast, Bertaut
- Philippe Bas … Cast, Delmas
- Marie Denarnaud … Cast, Isabelle Martin
- Lyece Boukhitine … Cast, Le Voisin d'Abde
- Bernard Lanneau … Cast, Jean-Robert
- Gregoire Oestermann … Cast, Nicolas
- Luc Palun … Cast, M. René
- Antoine Chain … Cast, Planton Nanterre
- Michel Scotto Di Carlo … Cast, Level
- Abdelhafid Metalsi … Cast, Ali Said
- Reda Samoudi … Cast, Hocine
- Mounir Margoum … Cast, Mohamed
- Michel Trillot … Cast, Marcel
- Matthias Van Khache … Cast, Jojo
- Salem Guermat … Cast, Algérian barrage
- Frank Berjot … Cast, Policier Commissariat 18ème
- Bruno Abraham-Kremer … Cast, Patron Abde
- Julien Lucas … Cast, Michaud
- Adel Bencherif … Cast, Le Collecteur
- Nicolas Jouhet … Cast, Ginet
- Stéfan Elbaum … Cast, Favre
- Djemel Barek … Cast, Homme de l'escalier
- Tayeb Belmihoub … Cast, Haroun
- Lyes Salem … Cast, Omar
- Alain Rimoux … Cast, Chaix
- Pierre-Alain Chapuis … Cast, Ministre de l'Intérieur Frey
- Loic Brabant … Cast, Legay
- Patrick Bonnel … Cast, Commandant Commissariat 18ème
- Ahcene Nini … Cast, Le Réfractaire
- Djamel Afnai … Cast, Algérien qui rit
- Jerome le Paulmier … Cast, Le Tueur Abde
- Guillaume Cramoisian … Cast, Médecin centre de tri
- Alexandre Carriere … Cast, Infirmier centre de tri
- Stephan Wojtowicz … Cast, Le Rédacteur
- Christophe Kourotchkine … Cast, Le Journaliste