Bye-Bye

Karim Dridi (1995)

France, Belgium, Switzerland

Genre: Drama

Karim Dridi is of Franco-Tunisian origin.  His first film, Pigalle, was well received by the critics; his second, Bye-Bye, did better at the box office, despite being overshadowed by the appearance of La Haine the same year, which also addressed (among other things) the plight of second generation Maghrebis in France. 

Bye-Bye focuses specifically on the immigrant Maghrebi family via the story of two brothers, Ismael and Mouloud, who make their way to Marseilles, where they stay with relatives, in order for the younger of the two to be sent 'home' to rejoin his parents in North Africa.  The older brother makes friends with a white youth in the docks where he finds work, but abuses the friendship by sleeping with his friend's girlfriend; the rebellious younger brother, who does not want to be sent away, gets led astray by his cousin, and finds himself in trouble with drug-dealers and racist thugs. At the end the brothers are reconciled, and set out for Spain together, but their car breaks down and they have nowhere to go…

The film provides a portrayal of the historic multi-ethnic Panier district of Marseilles, evoking both the rise of racial hatred and the possibility of inter-ethnic harmony.  The Panier is also the setting for the later film about second generation Maghrebis, Comme un aimant, by Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 30 May 2006 •

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