search

E-Mail This Story

Bled Number One, Thu October 4
2007, 7:00 only

Exploring tradition vs. modernity

Enter the info below and we'll send the story to your friend.

Bled Number One shows at IFS on Thu October 4, 2007, 7:00 only

Bled Number One
Exploring tradition vs. modernity
Thu October 4
2007, 7:00 only

The word bled in "Bled Number One," the title of Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche's follow-up to his well-regarded debut "Wesh-Wesh" (What's Going On?) in 2001, translates roughly as Hicksville. Which is precisely where Kamel ends up after being deported from France to Algeria, the land of his fathers, after doing time for robbery.

Bled is a finely observed slice of life shot in a low-key semi-documentary style. The latest in a run of French-made movies dealing with Franco-Algerian cross-currents, it speaks volumes about the conditions of life in today's Algeria and should play well in festivals and in the Arabic-speaking world.

Ameur-Zaimeche, as Kamel, plays the male lead as he did in "Wesh" whose protagonist also is a young Franco-Algerian recently released from prison. But where the earlier film deals with inner-city issues in France, Bled takes a cold-eyed look at life on the other side of the water.

Ameur-Zaimeche's direction is unfussy, favoring a quietly reflective mood with slow fades and several long takes of exteriors in dying light. He is never judgmental, but it's clear where his sympathies lie: In the conflict between tradition and modernity, at least in this corner of the Arab-Islamic world, the latter has a lot of catching up to do. The situation of women who have acquired Western tastes -- like a girl who, in the hospital where she has been taken after an abortive suicide attempt, sweetly sings the Billie Holiday classic "Don't Explain" -- is particularly delicate. (B. Besserglik, Hollywood Reporter)

To see a trailer and read a review, visit InternationalFilmSeries.com.

Tickets

10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission. $7 w/UCB student ID, $7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.

Parking

Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.

RTD Bus

Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus

International Film Series

(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.

First Person Cinema

(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.

C.U. Film Program

(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil Grillo.

Celebrating Stan

Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.

C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.

Thank you, sponsors!
Boulder International Film Festival
Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Looking for a gift for a friend?
Buy a Frequent Patron Punch Card for $60 at any IFS show. With the punch card you can see ten films (a value of $90).

We Want Your Feedback

Cox & Kjølseth
: Filmmaker Alex Cox & Pablo Kjølseth discuss film topics from their own unique perspectives.

Z-briefs
: Pablo and Ana share Zoom-based briefs on what's currently playing at IFS

Search IFS schedules

Index of visiting artists

Mon Apr 1, 2024

Hot Shots! Part Deux

At Muenzinger Auditorium

Sat Apr 20, 2024

Super Mario Bros.

At Muenzinger Auditorium

more on 35mm...