Synopsis
A French teacher in a small Algerian village during the Algerian War forms an unexpected bond with a dissident who is ordered to be turned in to the authorities.
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Cast
- Viggo MortensenDaru
- Reda KatebMohamed
- Djemel BarekSlimane
- Vincent MartinBalducci
- Nicolas GiraudLieutenant Le Tallec
- Jean-Jérôme EspositoFrancis
- Yann GovenRene
- Antoine RégentClaude
- Sonia AmoriLa prostituée
- Antoine LaurentLe soldat français
Recommendations
- 100
CineVue
The film is heartfelt and sincere in its concern to understand conflict and the plight of good men when they're forced to make impossible choices. - 90
Los Angeles Times
In the penetrating character study that is Far From Men, existentialism has never felt so intimate. - 83
The Playlist
It is simply a great, traditional Western: the language and cultural details may be different, but the sparse elegance and moral conundrums are familiar and as resonant as ever. - 83
The A.V. Club
Nobody moseys like Viggo Mortensen. In "The Road," "Appaloosa," "Jauja," and the new French Western Far From Men, the erstwhile Aragorn masters the tricky art of being a figure in the landscape. - 80
Variety
Despite his movie-star reputation and looks, Mortensen remains a remarkably humble screen presence, a trait that’s perfect for a part that demands considerable empathy from whoever’s playing it. - 75
Slant Magazine
The film often suggests a less defiant cover of The Defiant Ones, yet it's a must-see for Viggo Mortensen's characteristically wonderful performance. - 70
Village Voice
Its plotting is often a tad too plodding, but with the charismatic Mortensen exuding understated internal crisis (in a French- and Arabic-speaking role), Oelhoffen's film proves a compelling portrait of individuals striving to cope with, and at least somewhat overcome, cultural dislocation. - 70
The Dissolve
The new ending Oelhoffen has dreamed up is unsatisfying—Camus’ version was sharper, nastier, more credible—and the film never strays far from genre convention, but it’s refreshing to see a sincere paean to nobility, honor, and courage, especially one that periodically elevates the pulse with expertly mounted standoffs.
