A construction worker on a construction site in the Paris suburbs, Mehdi takes the bus to return home after work. Wishing to get off while the vehicle is stationary in a traffic jam, the driver refuses: while restarting, the bus hits the car in front of it. The bus driver attacks Mehdi whom he holds responsible for the incident, claiming that it is forbidden to “talk to the stagehand”. Mehdi is implicated in court and his lawyer tries to draw attention to the living conditions of immigrant workers.
Acting
Zinet's simmering dignity in a system built to break him.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes bureaucratic language against humanity.
Direction
Moosmann's unflinching eye on 1970s French hypocrisy.
Director
Daniel Moosmann
Mohamed Zinet
Mehdi Ben Chraïbi
Rabah Loucif
Omar
Elisabeth Huppert
L'avocate
Georges Géret
Le chauffeur de bus
Patrick Préjean
Le journaliste
Sady Rebbot
Le substitut du procureur
Roger Dumas
Jeannot
Jean Degrave
Le présisent du tribunal
Bernard Lajarrige
Rémy Cortin - le patron du bistrot
Raoul Delfosse
Le chauffeur de taxi
Lucienne Hamon
L'acheteuse
Anne-Marie Coffinet
La serveuse
Francis Lax
Serge Sauvion
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The term 'bougnoul' was a racist slur for North Africans; the film reclaims it as indictment. 1970s France's ' Trente Glorieuses' economic boom relied on exactly the invisible labor Mehdi represents.
Director Moosmann was blacklisted for years after this film's release; it was his debut and effectively his last major work. The TMDB 10/10 from one vote suggests near-total obscurity outside archival circles.
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