Inch'Allah Dimanche (2001)

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Directed by Yamina Benguigui.

Starring Marie-France Pisier, Fejria Deliba, Mathilde Seigner, Zinedine Soualem, Rabia Mokedem.

Set in 1974, when the French government decided to allow the families of Algerian men working in France to legally emigrate to join them, Inch'Allah Dimanche tells the story of one such family. Upon arriving in France with her three children, Zouina (Fejra Deliba), is sent off to live in a house that her husband has rented for them. Unfortunately, she quickly realizes that her husband has no intention of allowing her to see the country as it exists outside of the house, and is prohibited from leaving. Without friends and family and constantly under the surveillance of her domineering mother-in-law, Zouina finds her only source of relief is Sunday -- the film's title translates to "Thank God for Sunday!" -- when her husband takes his mother out for the day and Zouina and the children are able to explore the outside world. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Well acted, Existential
by quint in An inordinate number of peppers

is neutral about it.

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"I feel for this actress. She's giving her all to this character. Her plight is unfortunate, a tyranical mother-in-law, the strange culture shock of 1970's suburban France. It reminds me of a Thomas Hardy story, where historical forces seem to have created an untenable situation. An excellent premise.Unfortunately, the movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to accomplish. The actress cries, dances, veins pulse in her forehead. She is giving her all. The director can't seem to elevate the subject enough for her pathos. Her humiliations are sometimes countered with outragous actions on her part. She assults the annoying neighbor. She is slowly being liberated by talk radio. Charming details. It has a Brazil ending though, which is a hard thing to earn. Her predicament is convincing, although the existentialism seems out of place as she doesn't strike me as an existential character. She never stops wanting the pleasures of her Algerian home, her mother, her ritual ... " [More]

Inch'Allah Dimanche
by QFLW in QFLW Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"The subtitles wouldn’t show up in the DVD player but I watched the film anyway. An interesting experiment in seeing how much I could follow with the dialog in effect removed. Put the case away so as not to read more of the notes. What I knew going in was that this was written and directed by a French/Algerian woman (Yamina Benguigui) and had to do with an Algerian woman joining her husband in France after he’d been working there on his own for awhile. It was frustrating sometimes because I knew I was missing important details that would make what was happening clearer, but the performances of Fejria Deliba and her supporting cast were so clearly communicative that it wasn’t hard to understand the basic story at all. A painful situation for Zouina, more or less dragged by a hateful, carping mother-in-law away from her mother, sisters and friends to live in a foreign country with a husband she no longer truly knows. In France she has no allies or friends, bein ... " [More]

Inch'Allah Dimanche
by csprague in Spout Mavens

hasn't rated it.

"Directed by Yamina Benguigui. Starring Marie-France Pisier, Fejria Deliba, Mathilde Seigner, Zinedine Soualem, Rabia Mokedem. Set in 1974, when the French government decided to allow the families of Algerian men working in France to legally emigrate to join them, Inch'Allah Dimanche tells the story of one such family. Upon arriving in France with her three children, Zouina (Fejra Deliba), is sent off to live in a house that her husband has rented for them. Unfortunately, she quickly realizes that her husband has no intention of allowing her to see the country as it exists outside of the house, and is prohibited from leaving. Without friends and family and constantly under the surveillance of her domineering mother-in-law, Zouina finds her only source of relief is Sunday -- the film's title translates to "Thank God for Sunday!" -- when her husband takes his mother out for the day and Zouina and the children are able to explore the outside wor ... " [More]

Tags: france , existential , angeria , 1974 , family
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