The Empire of Dreams

Jun 5, 1982

2h 5m

★ 10.0

Overview

A stubborn director who wants to rediscover the Algiers of his childhood comes up against the “Hollywood” fantasies of his characters, non-professionals all hoping to be able to become “someone else”, at least for the duration of a film… Mise en abyme for a journey into megalomania…

Genres

Drama

Comedy

Production Companies

Office National pour le Commerce et l'Industrie Cinématographique (ONCIC)

The Empire of Dreams Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Jamil Charif

Sid Ali Kouiret

L'Actrice

Fettouma Ousliha-Bouamari

Le Voyou

Brahim Hadjadj

Mustapha El Anka

Zorro

Salah Teskouk

Le Monteur

Abdelkrim Baba Aissa

Mohamed Bouamari

Le Réalisateur

Aissa Ifrah

Mahmoud Aziz

In 1895, young journalist Albertine Auclair arrives in the Kabylie during a family visit. The beauty of the region seduces her but she soon learns of the struggles of the native Algerians. She hears in particular about Arezki El Bachir, who was recently sentenced to death by the colonial justice system, and decides to find out more about this extraordinary man.

10.0

Lumières

Jan 1, 1989

Long quest for a director specializing in commissioned films, who after a depression rediscovers his loved ones, his Casbah district, himself. Taken in hand, for a while, by his Islamist neighbor, it is above all the meeting with an old projectionist giving him a censored history of cinema and Algeria, which helps him to change, and to accept his own fantasies, embodied by Marilyn Monroe and the Andalusian.

0.0

Children of the Casbah

May 10, 1959

In a house in the heart of the Casbah of Algiers, a family is torn apart by the weight of war. Three divided brothers, caught up in the contradictions of a country in struggle, gradually unite around a single cause: the liberation of Algeria. Ibna El Casbah is a tense, emotionally-charged behind-closed-doors story that captures the moment when intimacy becomes history.

7.9

The Battle of Algiers

Sep 8, 1966

Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu, a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe, a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.

0.0

Halim El Raâd

May 12, 2022

Halim, a young man with intellectual disability, who's living with his single mother that struggles to take care of him

5.7

The Harem of Madame Osmane

Jul 12, 2000

In Algiers in 1993, while the civil war is starting, Mrs Osmane's tenants have to endure her bad temper. Her husband left her and the fear to lose her respectability haunt her. The former member of the Resistance during the Independence War persists in controlling the slightest moves of the households rather than struggle against her own frustrations. Learning her daughter is in love, the possibility of finding herself alone will push her to the limit: The symbolical Mrs Osmane "harem" is about to collapse.

10.0

Yema

Jan 26, 2019

Malika was supposed to meet her biological mother that day, but she prefers to follow Mimoun, an old Algerian man struggling to come to terms with his past.

10.0

Amal

Oct 10, 1960

A sublime documentary on childhood and bereavement that’s one of several shorts the filmmaker completed while working in Algeria for Georges Derocles’s company Les Studios Africa, for whom he would shortly make his breakthrough feature The Olive Trees of Justice.

10.0

Douar de Femmes

Nov 17, 2005

At a dangerous time in Algeria, 'Douar de Femmes' is a story of ordinary women who manage to defend themselves in extraordinary situations. The film focuses on a small village that has been attacked more often by terrorists from the surrounding mountains. While the men work, the women learn how to handle machine guns and explore the area. “Fear has armed us,” says the young woman Sabrina. But despite that fear, people get married, children come and keep watch.

4.8

Enough!

Sep 13, 2006

Set amidst the civil war of Algeria in the 1990s, Enough! is the story of two women. Emel is a Westerner whose husband, a journalist, is missing - perhaps kidnapped or even killed for articles he's written.

10.0

Les Enfants de Novembre

Jan 2, 1975

In the streets of the Casbah of Algiers, an FLN fighter pursued by the colonial police hands over confidential documents to Mourad, an Algerian child shouting newspapers who must at all costs pass them on to the resistance. But the police are on their trail and will do anything to get them back.

10.0

The Neon Children

May 12, 1991

Djamel and his deaf-mute companion Karim, both of North African origin, live in the middle of the materials they collect in their suburb. One evening Djamel rescues Claude, a young student who has been raped, and falls in love with her. They share a few moments of happiness despite the jealousy of Najet, in love with Djamel. Thus, they wake up together. But this budding love is soon broken by the differences that separate Djamel and Claude. This one sees itself taking back by force the chainette which he had offered to her. Shortly after, the young Maghrebi dies, victim of racism...

7.2

Pépé le Moko

Jan 28, 1937

Pépé le Moko, one of France's most wanted criminals, hides out in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows police will be waiting for him if he tries to leave the city. When Pépé meets Gaby, a gorgeous woman from Paris who is lost in the Casbah, he falls for her.

7.5

Khouth Ma Aâtak Allah (عرس الدايم, خود ما اعطاك الله)

Jan 1, 1981

No overview available.

8.5

لحن الأمل (Lahn El-Almel)

Mar 1, 1993

Abderrahim is a mechanic and singer in his spare time. One day, he receives a car to repair, driven by a very beautiful girl. It's love at first sight. They want to get married and start a family, but the girl's parents do not view this love favorably. They decide to marry their daughter to another man. Subsequently, Abderrahim became a famous singer. The loss of her love leaves the young girl in a state of silence from which only Abderrahim can break her.