Let Them Come

At the hospital bedside of his mother (Farida Saboundji), Noureddine (Amazigh Kateb) complies with her nagging wish and agrees to marry the lovely Yasmina (Rachida Brakni), the neighbour who was graciously watching over her during her illness. Emotionally numb, Noureddine seems more impelled by a drive to atone for being a disappointing son than by any love for Yasmina. The marriage is mired in disenchantment as soon as it begins, but he and his family will have far greater problems to contend with. When armed Islamist militants retaliate against the army's crackdown by staging acts of terror against the civilian population, the everyday life of Algerians is overwhelmed by the sweep of hate, violence, and fear. (Toronto International Film Festival)