You may remember French director Ladj Ly from his acclaimed 2019 film Les Misérables, which earned him an Oscar nomination. Now he’s back tackling similar socially-conscious themes in his latest project, Les Indesirables (The Unwanted). Set in the Parisian suburbs, it continues Ly’s exploration of racial tensions and police brutality in marginalized communities.
We follow a young archivist and housing activist named Haby, played with quiet intensity by newcomer Anta Diaw. When her neighborhood’s progressive mayor suddenly dies, he’s replaced by the arrogant Pierre, a pediatrician who cares more about his political ambitions than connecting with citizens. Sparks fly as Haby challenges his authority and runs for mayor herself. Meanwhile, her friend Blaz simmers with rage at their mistreatment, lashing out at cops during confrontations.
As tensions escalate, Ly thrusts us right into this powder keg environment through his visceral, documentary-like direction. While sometimes blunt in its messaging, the film resonates with urgent topics like immigrant rights and reactive policing. So buckle up for another hard-hitting ride from Ly’s cinema of the streets.
Holding a Mirror to Society’s Ills
At its core, Les Indesirables is a rumination on the racial and class divides plaguing Paris’ marginalized suburbs. Through the lens of fictional Grand-Bosquet, Ly exposes how discrimination permeates the lives of immigrant communities, depicting the ingenious ways residents survive despite minimal support systems.
The heavy-handed tactics of the interim mayor Pierre and his police force highlight the struggles minorities face for equal rights and treatment. As one friend notes, “They see us all the same” regardless of background. Yet Ly also shows empathy for the shades of grey through complex figures like Deputy Mayor Roger, an African immigrant now opposing his own people’s interests to maintain his position.
With the rise of reactionary populism worldwide, the film’s narrative of “us vs them” hits close to home. When Pierre imposes a curfew targeting minority youths after isolated crimes, it’s hard not to draw real-life parallels. The film suggests oppression inevitably breeds unrest when people feel unheard. While some advocates like Haby pursue change through proper channels, others like her boyfriend Blaz opt for more destructive catharsis.
By thrusting us into the chaotic community evacuations and violent police raids, Ly makes it impossible to ignore the human toll of incremental policy decisions. His meticulous world-building in the corridors of power and on Grand-Bosquet’s gritty streets calls out our collective responsibility. Even if heavy-handed at times, Les Indesirables finds power by bearing witness to hardship while urging understanding between groups.
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Capturing Truth Through the Lens
From its opening funeral procession down a dark cramped stairwell, to sweeping drone shots of building evacuations, Les Indesirables displays technical mastery in bringing its tense social microcosms to life. Veteran cinematographer Julien Poupard ably captures the suffocating intimacy of these neglected communities, forcing us into their reality.
The shooting style moves fluidly between rapid fire cinéma vérité to punctuate clashes with the law, to more patient observational passages exploring characters’ interior lives, reminiscent of Déa’dé Sembène . Stark strobe lighting and ashen color grading adds to the alienation and dread.
Sets also feel authentic and lived-in, evoking a shared sense of history, like the packed informal restaurants that double as a gathering space against loneliness. Through actor Aristote Luyindula’s raw stare and furtive body language we see Blaz’s fuse burning internally before he externalizes that pain through explosions of aggression.
Les Indesirables prioritizes first-hand emotional experience over detached analysis, while occasional drone perspective lends necessary distance to fully take in the scale of injustice. By framing humanizing portraits of underrepresented people amidst callous systems seeking to erase them, Ly shows great promise in carrying the torch of socially incisive French banlieue cinema forward.
Humanizing a Divided Community
The large ensemble cast of Les Indesirables brings nuanced depictions of people too often relegated to one-note stereotypes in popular culture. As the principled archivist Haby, Anta Diaw displays wisdom beyond her years with a simmering inner strength, grounding the story with her righteous pursuits. Meanwhile, Alexis Manenti tap dances between smarmy ingratiation and domineering menace as Mayor Pierre, showing how even “polite” racism undergirds oppressive governance.
In more restrained supporting turns, Steve Tientcheu exudes the weariness of living between worlds as Deputy Mayor Roger, his furrowed brow telegraphing the cognitive dissonance inherent in maintaining privilege amidst his own people’s oppression. Syrian refugees played touchingly by Judi Al Rashi also represent the intersectional nature of marginalization.
By personalizing the policy battles through these characters’ intertwined lives, Les Indesirables resonates emotionally where a more detached approach might lapse into didacticism. We understand fiery young Blaz’s self-destructive anger at discrimination as a logical byproduct of an untenable situation rather than an intrinsic flaw. And through glimpses of Mayor Pierre’s home life, we recognize him as more pathetic than purely evil, even as the film refuses to absolve his abuses of power.
Some characters still verge on archetypes, but by and large, Les Indesirables humanizes people on all sides of injustice. It carries on African American film pioneers’ tradition of representation countering dehumanization.
Heavy-Handed Storytelling
For all its visual potency, Les Indesirables suffers from an overly convenient script that pushes the plot into histrionic territory. Ly and co-writer Giordano Gederlini manufacture drama by piling increasingly extreme obstacles against their protagonists to prove the Depth of systemic bias. But these escalations strain believability.
The mayor’s sudden death from a heart attack while detonating a building demolition sets off a rushed chain of events, including the unlikely appointment of an aloof doctor with no political experience as his successor. Pierre then evolves into a caricature of racist governance just to maximize conflict with Haby’s grassroots campaign and the community.
Side characters like Blaz also verge on vessels for talking points rather than fully realized people. His arson and defiant criminal acts are portrayed sympathetically while still falling into the trap of demonizing the justifiably angry young Arab man. And Haby’s climactic confrontation with Pierre offers only catharsis without substance.
For a film tackling institutional dehumanization, Les Indesirables often devolves into conveniently scripted plot points at the expense of nuance. Some contrivances were likely necessary to distill sprawling societal problems. But in centering an individual struggle over a more thoughtful systemic analysis, Ly ends up undercutting his film’s urgency rather than focusing it.
Authentic Anger Catalyzing Empathy
There is an undeniable rawness to Les Indesirables stemming from Ly’s firsthand connection as a young Parisian banlieue resident. Even when plot machinations feel forced, this authenticity shines through in stark tableaus like the residents desperately hurling belongings from windows during an eviction.
Blazing with the barely contained fury of youth, the film’s emotional resonance takes many forms – grace under pressure seen in Anta Diaw’s determined but compassionate activist-archivist Haby; hot-blooded despair via wildcard Blaz; the simmering indignities characters endure within dehumanizing systems not built for them.
Clearly Ly hopes to galvanize viewers to reflect on our own societal blindspots through this unflinching window into institutional bias. But lighter character touches ensure an empathy beyond guilt or duty. Scenes of ground down Deputy Mayor Roger finding fleeting comfort in his lifelong immigrant neighborhood have as much power as Haby’s clash against gentrification.
In those grace notes and in its vivid sense memory lies the key takeaway – that we all wish to love, thrive and belong. For every overwrought plot beat, Les Indesirables counters with experiential truth that lingers. It joins a rich tradition of well-meaning if flawed political art – less final word than an opening salvo for overdue dialogue. In spotlighting silenced voices, it succeeds as cinematic act of resistance against dehumanization.
Worthwhile Despite Flaws
At its best, Les Indesirables channels righteous anger into an empathetic rallying cry against the machinery of oppression. Anchored in textured community depictions and an aching familiarity with its setting, Ly’s second feature shows immense potential to carry the torch of French social realism forward.
But undermine that urgency too often script contrivances force the plot into didacticism at odds with its vérité style. Characters like Blaz verge on mouthpieces rather than fully realized people. Still, breakthrough turns from Diaw and Tientcheu humanize amidst dehumanizing systems.
The emotionaltruth at its core outweighs narrative missteps. Like many well-meaning political polemics, Les Indesirables remains impactful despite areas for growth. Its technical bravura and compassionate lens make it above all a triumph of voice – amplifying the silenced and unseen.
Fans of unrelenting social justice cinema won’t want to miss this passionate if blunt entry. But those seeking more nuance may leave craving something beyond Ly’s signature ultra-direct approach. Either way, it continues an urgent conversation at the intersection of art and activism.
The Review
Les Indesirables
Les Indesirables is a flawed yet potent battle cry against oppression from a master of French social realism. Though undermined by script issues, Ladj Ly’s passionate direction and meticulous world-building shine a spotlight on marginalized voices with an urgency and intimacy that lingers. It may reach preaching to the choir levels in prioritizing emotion over viable solutions, but remains admirable for bearing empathetic witness.
PROS
- Powerful performances by Anta Diaw and Alexis Manenti
- Immersive visual style and production values
- Timely/relevant exploration of social issues
- Strong emotional impact and sense of authenticity
CONS
- Overly convenient plot decisions/contrivances
- Lack of nuance/shades of gray in some characters
- Heavy-handed and obvious messaging
- Unclear real-world solutions
