Hors la loi

Beginning with its controversial interpretation of the Setif massacre in 1945, in which French soldiers killed Algerians following riots and protests, Outside the Law, reveals how young Algerian men respond to colonialism. Three brothers who lost their father in the Setif massacre take different paths as they grow up under colonial French rule. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France, and Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle. Gradually, their interconnecting destinies reunite them in the French capital, where freedom is a battle to be fought and won. The film was selected as one of the five nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, having been submitted by Algeria.