The First Man

Le Premier Homme

(France, 2011, 100 mins)

Executive Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marci Chimenz
Producer: Marco Chimenz
Screenwriter: Gianni Amelio
Cinematographer: Yves Cape
Editor: Carlo Simeoni
Music: Franco Piersanti
Cast: Jacques Gamblin, Catherine Sola, Maya Sansa, Denis Podalydès, Ulla Baugue, Jean-Francois Stevenin

When he died, Albert Camus left behind an unfinished autobiographical novel, The First Man, which dealt with his impoverished childhood in Algeria. Now Gianni Amelio, director of the classic Lamerica, has turned it into a gorgeously crafted movie.

It follows a famous novelist, Camus’s alter ego Jaques Cormery, as he returns to Algeria, where his mother still lives, on the eve of violent revolution. His politically charged journey sets off memories of his fatherless childhood, of the teacher who recognized his talent, of the stern grandmother who ruled the family with an iron fist, all rendered in unforgettable vignettes by a cinematic master.

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