- A Lebanese kid is sent to France on a terrorist mission for "Allah's Army". An Lebanese French kid becomes involved unwittingly. A bond develops between the two, while they become alienated from and independent of the adults in their lives.—goat's milk
- Historical note. Lebanon was administered by France between 1920 & 1944. In 1975 a civil war began between Christian & Palestinian militias, which continued sporadically until 1982 when Israeli forces invaded & occupied the southern part of Lebanon as a security zone in response to guerrilla raids by the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Israel withdrew only in 2000.
In 1986, after his father is killed in the war with the Israelis, eleven-year-old Lebanese boy Djilali (Teufik Jallab) is sold to the Hezbollah militia by his uncle for $3,000 so he can buy a car.
Placed in a military training camp with five other boys of his age, he undergoes terrifying indoctrination, brainwashing & military training just as though he was an adult, to prepare him for a "sacred mission" of assassination & become a "hero". "Aim at the head & the heart, not the body." The recruits are known only by numbers, not names, as they become de-humanised. Taught to kill, they are told the Jews and the Christian infidels are evil & must be killed because they are enemies who stole the land from Muslims. But they are still children, whatever the adults subject them to. An early scene shows one of the young "recruits" in tears clutching his teddy bear; the officer in charge realises he will not become a soldier & so kindly sends him home. Djilali proves to be the most able & resilient of the boys in brutal tests & is delighted to be chosen "by Allah" to go to Paris, receiving a wristwatch & a pistol as his reward. But he is now emotionally drained & detached; even his hatred of "the Jews and the infidels" is something he seems to hold out of duty instead of passion, and his cold-bloodedness makes him ideal for Hezbollah's purpose.
After flying alone to Paris, Djilali (to be known as Laïd) is placed in a house with four "minders" - the non-Lebanese Hans (cell chief), Bachir & the icy Mokhtar (who smokes & drinks), plus the only female, Khadidja, who is to be Djilali's "aunt" & who looks after him in Paris. He is to observe a young Lebanese boy of the same age, Karim (Younesse Boudache), whom he is to impersonate. He is to say nothing of his training or mission, only of his life in the refugee camp; also he must ensure Karim does not leave the house. Karim is a buoyant street-wise kid, who befriends junkie girl Isabelle in his block of run-down flats in a poor neighbourhood of Paris. He lives with his parents & younger brother & decorates his room with James Bond posters. His world consists of skateboarding, rap music & petty crime with older youths. He knows nothing of terrorism & is totally ignorant of Laïd's mission, believing that the terrorists are actually French security forces & that Laïd has been sent by his family to France to stay with his aunt for safety.
When the boys first meet both are somewhat reserved & look each other up & down with curiosity. Their lives could not be more different. Djilali at first regards Karim as frivolous, while Karim, who intends to be friendly, sees Djilali as hopelessly out of touch & weirdly dressed. Djilali's task is simple: learn about this boy, become the boy & carry out his sacred duty. Spending time together & sharing a bedroom the two boys gradually bond & the hardened Djilali softens to Karim's humanity and fun-loving outlook. Throughout this bonding there is an undercurrent of sadness tinged with gentle humour. When Djilali suffers nightmares, calling for his dead father & remembering the horrors of war-torn Lebanon, Karim comforts him, stroking his hair & telling him that he will soon forget his past suffering; when they get out of the house they will have fun together, as he really likes him, skateboarding at the Trocadero & playing video games.
At the house, unlike Karim, Djilali prays regularly & knows the Koran by heart, but Karim says perhaps you only think you believe in God. On TV Djilali watches reports of a bombing in Paris & Khadidja suggests that he watch a film - chosen "at random", but it is René Clément's Jeux interdit" (Forbidden games, 1952). The first sequences show a bombing, during which a young girl's parents are killed. In the film she has sworn eternal friendship with her new friend Michel. One night Karim suggests that he & Laïd swear eternal friendship "for better or worse ["à la vie, à la mort" ]; if one is in trouble the other helps", exchanging their watches to seal the pact. Karim says "You're my pal, even if we don't believe in the same things." Djilali gradually realizes that matters are not as black & white as the adults would have him believe, no longer trusting them; he is on his own. When asked by the chief minder if he likes Karim he cautiously replies "no".
Karim sneaks out & follows Laïd when he is taken for a fitting of the suit he will wear for his mission, because he wants to be with him. Beckoning him to come out of the tailors, Karim quickly skateboards off through the Paris streets with a worried Djilali chasing after him. When Djilali finally catches up wanting them to go back to the tailors, Karim says he is too obedient & should relax; the minders can only yell at them like his father does when he comes home late. As Djilali does not know the way back he reluctantly wanders around following Karim to a café & then to the Trocadero. When they eventually return to the house (after Karim has stolen a bottle of alcohol & made himself sick) Djilali lies to the minders, saying it was not Karim's fault, because he had followed him to the tailors just for fun. Djilali ran after him simply to bring him back, but they got lost. He respects his mission; why would he lie? He is told by the initially suspicious Hans that he has done well.
On the day of the mission the target is revealed to him as the President of France. Djilali is informed that he is to pose as Karim when attending a Christmas party for children of employees at the Élysée Palace. He will be taken there by Karim's father, who cooperates under duress, fearing for his son's life. By using Karim's doctored identity pass to gain entrance he is told he will not be searched. He is to empty his gun at the President, even as he falls, then drop it, scream like the others will be doing & run to the gate in the general panic, where two of the minders will (supposedly) be waiting. They say the French do not shoot children so he will be safe (but he is probably expendable to the terrorists). He asks what will happen to Karim as he will talk, but is told that he can go as the terrorist cell will be safely out of the country in two hours.
Djilali is forbidden to say goodbye to Karim, but as he leaves the house he writes on the bathroom mirror "Adieu mon ami". Walking to the car he remembers the deceptions during his training & then realizes he has forgotten his friend's watch & runs back to get it. There he finds the chilling Mokhtar about to kill Karim with a knife & kills him with a single shot. Going downstairs halfway he meets the other three minders who do not know exactly what has occurred. Djilali says Karim has been killed by Mokhtar. Hans says it was too risky to let him live; forget Karim & carry out your mission. This is the breaking point: Djilali is forced to choose between his (only) friend & his mission. Djilali immediately kills the two men with rapid single shots, as he has been trained to do, & tells Khadidja to go quickly. He then changes his jacket & hauls the traumatised Karim out of the house to safety. Coming to an appreciation of what just transpired Karim hits Djilali saying he had wanted to kill him, but the latter responds that he had just saved his life. They had both been tricked & lied to; Karim's father knew of the plot. Djilali calls himself a soldier & a traitor & tells Karim his real name.
When Karim suddenly walks off, Djilali calls after him "You can't leave me - you said friends for better or worse!" & they both go to Karim's home, where he accuses his father of selling him. Learning that Karim's father has notified the police of the plot because the terrorists did not turn up & hearing sirens, Karim takes Djilali to Isabelle's flat to hide. While there Djilali sees on TV Khadidja under arrest & a sketch of himself as a wanted person. Lying on a bed next to Karim, Djilali in tears says "I don't want to die. It's over Karim. I'm finished. They're all after me. I'll never get back to Lebanon. I'm scared." Karim puts his arm around him, nestling his head, saying Djilali is safe with him & he will take him to Lebanon. The three leave the flat under the noses of the police with the two boys disguised as girls. They change their clothes in a public convenience before going to the railway station for a train to Marseilles, where Karim fantasises that they can stowaway on a cargo ship to Lebanon, as he has seen done in a film. There is no train until early the next morning. As they sit waiting on a platform Djilali says he feels stifled in Paris; he misses the sun & sea & stars. Karim notices armed men creeping towards them & tells Djilali to close his eyes & imagine he is in Lebanon, with the warm sun, sea & sand. As Djilali rests his head on Karim's shoulder the film ends.
In the Epilogue we discover that this story is based on fact - the two boys are now seventeen; Djilali was arrested & interrogated, but deemed not responsible for his actions [also he rid France of three terrorists]. He was sent to a refugee camp in France where he is studying & still in touch with Karim, who is unemployed but hoping to make a career in rap music.
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