Outside the Law | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Rachid Bouchareb |
Produced by | Jean Bréhat |
Written by | Rachid Bouchareb Olivier Lorelle |
Starring |
Jamel Debbouze Roschdy Zem Sami Bouajila |
Music by | Armand Amar |
Cinematography | Christophe Beaucarne |
Edited by | Yannick Kergoat |
Production
company |
Tessalit Productions
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Distributed by | StudioCanal (France) |
Release date
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Running time
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137 minutes |
Country | France Algeria Tunisia Belgium |
Language | French Arabic |
Budget | $22.6 million |
Box office | $4 million |
Outside the Law (French: Hors-la-loi, Arabic: خارجون عن القانون) is a 2010 drama film directed by Rachid Bouchareb, starring Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem and Sami Bouajila. The story takes place between 1945 and 1962, and focuses on the lives of three Algerian brothers in France, set against the backdrop of the Algerian independence movement and the Algerian War. It is a stand-alone follow-up to Bouchareb's 2006 film Days of Glory, which was set during World War II. Outside the Law was a French majority production with co-producers in Algeria, Tunisia and Belgium.
A historically unorthodox portrayal of the 1945 Sétif massacre sparked a political controversy in France. Reviews of the film compared it to Westerns and gangster films, and critics observed how the independence activists were likened to the French Resistance during World War II. Outside the Law represented Algeria at the 83rd Academy Awards, where it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.