L'Italien (2010) Online

As «Kad et Olivier», Kaddour Merad and Olivier Baroux wrote and interpreted hundreds of zany comedy sketches on television («La grosse émission» on Comédie Channel [1999-2001]and on the radio («L'autoroute de la fortune» on Europe 2 [2002]). They soon started acting in movies as a duo too, notably in «Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose?» in 2003 and «A Ticket to Space » in 2006. . When Baroux turned to film direction he did not fail to hire his friend and partner Kad Merad for his first two films, «Tonight I'll Sleep at Yours» (2007), a standard romantic comedy, and «Safari» (2008), a silly bush adventure pastiche. After these two somewhat wasted efforts, it seemed that not much was to be expected from their next project together, announced in 2009, going by the title of «L'Italien».

Error. Error. For, as of the first minutes of viewing, you realize that «L'Italien» will be an above average comedy of manners. And, in such a case, you get over very well being proved wrong in your expectations!

Let's say a word or two about the story first. It revolves around Dino, a cheerful car dealer of Italian origin who is a success in every department of his life. He is the best salesman in the Nice Maserati dealership, of which he can reasonably expect to become the manager in a few months, he makes a comfortable living and has a steady girlfriend, who contemplates marriage. Life could not be sweeter. Except that Dino ... is not Dino but Mourad in disguise! In fact posing as an Italian has helped this Algerian-born immigrant to get integrated more easily and into French society. But clouds start piling up on the horizon the day when, for reasons I will not detail here, Dino/Mourad finds himself driven to accept his father's request to keep Ramadan in his place, meaning that he will pray five times a day, fast in the daytime and abstain from sex intercourse with his girlfriend at night. Quite an ordeal for someone like him who could not care less about religion and who bites his teeth into life!

An interesting theme indeed but which could turn out to be a pitfall. Olivier Baroux could have chosen the crazy humor of "Safari" in concentrating only on the complications unfolding from the "keeping Ramadan but hiding it from others" premise. The director does not refrain from doing it of course, giving us a few amusing scenes (the funniest of all being the one in which Dino/Mourad must find a way NOT TO TASTE his future mother-in-law's Tiramisu) but he is not content with this aspect of the script. He could also have opted for mere caricature and ridiculed the rites inherent in the faith of Islam as well as scoffing at Mourad making a fool of himself trying to practice them. Fortunately he deftly avoids such a trap by showing respect both for the Muslim religion and for his hero, who makes tremendous and sincere efforts to keep a solemn promise.

With this film, Olivier Baroux has found the right tone and balance between the farcical aspect of his sketches with Kad Merad and the sentimentality of «Tonight I'll Sleep at Yours». There are times when you laugh or smile but others which are moving or even poignant (Dino's descent into hell; his father's confession, ...). And the icing on the cake is that the director manages to deal with important social issues without being ponderous or preachy. For, although he does it quite casually, Baroux hits where it hurts, denouncing the endemic racism that prevails in France and the hardships immigrants – even legal – have to go through to be treated on an equal footing with the other citizens of country.

Kad Merad finds one of his best roles here - maybe his best -, combining his abilities for pure comedy ("Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis") and for serious drama ("Don't Worry, I'm Fine"). He inhabits his role and makes it all the more meaningful as the character of Mourad echoes his own life (he once considered adopting a French first name to make it in show business). His performance is a pleasure to watch throughout.

A fine surprise, "L'Italien" is a very good comedy of manners, which successfully examines a serious subject in a light tone. Which is a good omen for Olivier Baroux's career to come.

A French comedy about identity recognition, our protagonist is torn among being a French, an Arabian and an Italian at the same time, when it comes the month of fast, all his white lies begin to crack down.

Frankly speaking, there is skimpy of novelty in the whole film, the comedic atmosphere is a little bit bland, the twist-and-turn is hackneyed as if I was the mastermind behind it. But on the other hand, the film is a great pleasure to watch, you will not feel disgusted or uncomfortable, it is what I call an innocuous comedy, which is a suitable treat when the timing is that all you need is a light comedy to kill some time before bed.

Kad Merad now has become the byword of contemporary French comedic films, this time his acting smoothly spikes with a more personalized empathy, the struggle of coming out of the "nationality" closet towards his girlfriend, his family and his boss, conquering these three gigantic barriers.

P.S.: I learned quite a lot new information about Ramadan, Muslim and Jew (not totally by the film itself), but anyway, it's always great to learn something new from films.

If you're looking for something original in a light comedy, this is a great choice! But it is by no means mindless- has the right amount of substance as well. It is a heartwarming modern day exploration of the issue of identity. Unbeknownst to his family, Dino Fabrizzi is living a double life as an Italian car salesman, but is actually the son of Algerian immigrants in Marseilles. Everything goes smoothly for 5 years but then the ruse starts to crumble. Very well done! Also noteworthy is the humour and respect Muslim dogma is presented with. This was my first Kad Merad movie but I have since read he is a popular French comedy actor and will seek them out more. He imbued a great deal of humanity and humour into his portrayal of the nuanced character, Dino Fabrizzi/ Mourad Ben Saoud.

Dino Fabrizzi (Kad Merad) has every reason to be happy: he's charismatic, he's a successful salesman for Mazeratti a fitting car company for his Italian background, he's valued by his boss and admired by his family. Everything is fine except for one detail: it all relies on a lie. Dino's real identity is Mourad Bensaoud, he was born in Algeria and fools his parents by pretending to work in Italy, only his sister (Saphia Azzedine) reluctantly keeps the secret.

Beyond the premise of a great comedy of errors, "The Italian", directed by Kad's all-time partner Olivier Baroux, raises an issue I can't ignore myself, being from the same ethnic background than Mourad. By the way, it's interesting that Kad is the shortened version of Kaddour, a typical Arabic first-name, that the aspiring comedian chose the cooler sounding 'Kad' highlight Arabs' averseness to be type-casted, which is exactly what encouraged Mourad to become Dino. Dino is a self-reflexion on Kad and vice versa.

This choice is revealing of an attitude that unfortunately became too common within the Arabs, probably the most self-loathing of all the ethnic groups, whether it's because of the notoriously insecure suburbs or all this negative mythology regarding the scarf or terrorism, the fact is that Arabs and Muslims are the most openly disregarded of all the ethnic groups, to the point it finally spilled over their self-esteem. However, I should specify that, by Arabs, I insist more on North-African people.

Being from the same Mediterranean background than Southern-Europeans, North Africans use their mixed heritage as alibis for some distance from their Arabic roots. Having green or blue eyes in an Arab family is like a blessing, mixed marriages became extremely commons and most Arabs don't mind giving European names to their children (I have two cases in my own family). Even today in Morocco, some first names became popular, for their glamorous consonance, such as Maria, Ines or Rayan (which sounds exactly like Ryan). And to tell you how a 'disgrace' it is to be an Arab, just tell a Berberian that he's an Arab and you'll get the point from his or her reaction.

For the trivia, Berberian were the first people in North Africa, along with some Phoenician tribes and Jews, they were later Islamised by Arabs coming from the Arabic peninsula and the North African identity was made of this double background, the Moors. Speaking of them, remember the scene in "True Romance" when the Mafioso played by Walken is told that he has African genes; Hopper was turned into Swiss Cheese right after. Now, go tell, an Arab that he looks like an Italian, he won't give you the kiss of death. This unconscious self-loathing symptom might surprise, well, I'll give you the ultimate example.

I lived a few years in France, and sometimes pretended to be Italian and like in the film, I picked the name Dino, which I still use to sign my drawings. And the film's Dino lives the dilemma to the core, not ashamed of his background, but knowing too well how difficult it is to be part of society with all the issues that undermine the perceptions of Arabs. The film is still a comedy, and as if it was aware that the subject was serious, tries to handle it with a lightness that works most of the time.

It works when it contradicts Mourad's own prejudices; his boss had a genuine fondness on him and didn't seem like the type to care about racial issues. The same goes with his girlfriend, who doesn't leave you with the certitude that she would leave him if she knew he was an Arab. And even Mourad's friends encourage him to reveal the truth. The problem is that for the sake of a realistic approach to Mourad's problem, there's not much left for 'understanding his problem' and not gags, which is worse. I also have a problem with the Ramadan set-up, maybe the film's biggest flaw although it's certainly paved by good intentions.

The depiction of Islamic faith was too simplistic. Mourad's father is victim of a heart attack and cannot fast during Ramadan, he then asks his son to accomplish it, in his name, which religiously speaking is nonsense. Then, Mourad buys "Islam for Dummies" asks an Imam about some issues, and learns that he can't have forbidden sexual relationships during Ramadan. These parts didn't work because I felt that the screenwriter had no clue about Islam whatsoever, and reduce it to a series of rituals without giving much substance to Islam, except for claiming that it's as normal as the other religions, as if it was driven by the same defensive mechanisms than Arabs in general.

I don't think anyone of Mourad's background would be that ignorant about religion, no one who'd say that the 'Prophet is watching you' and no one, not even an atheist would insult the prophet like the sister did, it wasn't blasphemy, it was gratuitous insulting. The wisecracking and cynical sister annoyed me all through the film, and I couldn't get past this quote. The film redeems itself however, getting to the expected conclusion, we know that Dino will not be able to hide his fast all the month, we know that his identity will unveil some hidden racism and we know that every person that counts in his life will tell him, that it didn't matter.

I guess, despite all the flaws I mentioned, I still like the film for being the first to tackle such a hot, and even if not everything is true to life, the premise is. It still has a fair share of gags; especially a hilarious analysis of an appetizing Italian pastry Mourad couldn't eat. The film needed a few moments like this but got lost sometimes, victim of some attempts to make everything too explicit at the risk of being too preachy.