The English title, Couscous, may seem as hackneyed for a film about North African immigrants in France as calling one on Asians in Britain 'Curry', but couscous is at least heavily present as a concern as ageing boatyard worker Slimane is laid off and turns to setting up a couscous restaurant on a boat, drafting in his extended family. The fulcrum of the story, Slimane is also a diffident presence, prone to panic attacks not unrelated to certain members circling him like vultures. The film owes much of its cohesion, despite its rambling length, to Habib Boufares's performance, which carries much strength in its understatement.Early on, as he loses his job, there is a key scene in which Slimane explains to his daughter that 'they're only taking on non-French people now' and this really encapsulates what's refreshing about the whole attitude of the film: we're not dealing with a straightforward piece on the hardships of immigrants, but, rather, an ordinary working-class family. And the plot subsequently mirrors this by constantly choosing the less predictable turn. If the director is too fond at times of the realism he's chosen to go with by also letting his actors yammer on freeformly, the end result is still rewarding enough.
7/10
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