Outside the Law

From writer-director Rachid Bouchareb (Days of Glory AKA Indigènes) comes the film Outside the Law, the story of three brothers who fight for Algeria’s independence from France after World War II.

After losing their family home in Algeria, three brothers are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement; Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle. Gradually, their interconnecting destinies reunite them in the French capital, where freedom is a battle to be fought and won.

“A tense, energetic historical drama on a grand scale -- somewhere between Bertolucci and Michael Mann.” (Jonathan Romney, Independent)

Stephen Holden, New York Times

"Sweeping and Powerful"
"A sweeping historical melodrama"

"Powerful and well made"


Lou Lumenick, New York Post

"A powerful decades-spanning epic"

"Extremely well-acted, suspenseful and lavish"


Jeffrey Lyons, Lyons Den Radio/WNYM-AM

“This is a monumental film. A superb political thriller which brings to light a struggle long forgotten but which makes for a compelling movie!”


Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International

"Terrific... an impressive, high-energy saga bursting with outstanding performances."

"An entertaining and clarifying history lesson about how and why Algeria fought France for the independence it finally won in 1962."

"An impressive, high-energy saga bursting with outstanding performances, plotting that spans nearly four decades, and enough shoot-’em-up scenes to impress action fans."


Jackson Truax, AwardsCircuit.com

“OUTSIDE THE LAW is now the film to beat in the race for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, and the film any other potential winner will be judged against."

"Incredibly well acted, staged, and shot."

"Truly epic... An incredible film that transcends the language barrier.”

“OUTSIDE THE LAW begins the season in a remarkable place as the one to beat.”

“If really what the race all comes down to is voters and their taste, OUTSIDE THE LAW begins the season in a remarkable place as the one to beat.”


Andrew Schenker, Slant

"Downright Thrilling...
Ruddy action sequences, a wealth of historical detail, and a complex examination of the moral costs of revolution."


Jonathan Romney, The Independent on Sunday

Version 1 (Paris marquee):
“Tense, Energetic, Grand…
Somewhere Between Bertolucci and Mann.”

Version 2 (newspaper):
“A tense, energetic drama on a grand scale…
Somewhere between Bertolucci and Michael Mann.”


Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

"A film that adroitly puts hollywood epic style at the service of compelling third world subject matter"

"A Potent Piece of Entertainment."


Dave Calhoun, Time Out London

Version 1 (Paris marquee):
* * * * (4 Stars)
“Sweeping and Provocative.”

Version 2 (newspaper):
* * * * (4 Stars)
"Sweeping and Provocative.
An Impressive Achievement."


Harvey Karten, MovieWeb.com

"Sizzling...Viscerally Exciting. It will remind audiences of 'Bonnie and Clyde’ but will be compared to Gillo Pontecorvo's masterwork 'The Battle of Algiers.' Lavish and cinematic."

“Sizzling... Provides plenty of visceral excitement that will remind the audience of police dramas like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ but which will be compared by those hip to history with Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 masterwork ‘The Battle of Algiers’... Gives the audience a lavish, cinematic treatment of a period in French and Algerian history probably unknown for the most part outside those countries and not at all by those born after the war for independence.”