The story of Madame Courage starts with a secondary character from the director’s previous film, The Rooftops (2013). This character, seemingly a representation of Algerian youth, has succumbed totally to the power of the psychoactive drug called “Madame Courage,” which apparently is now en vogue not just in Algeria but in the entire region of the Maghreb. Merzak Allouache obviously remains troubled by the social problems of youth, which he first addressed in his initial film, Omar Gatlato (1977), a masterful portrayal of the malaise of youngsters in postindependence Algeria.
From the first scene, in which we see Omar, the main character, being chased by a group of young men, it becomes clear that he has done something wrong. In the following scene we see him, in broad daylight and in public, stealing a necklace from a young woman, Selma, who was simply enjoying a stroll in the company of her friends. Omar is pitifully lost. Constantly insulted by his mother and abandoned by society, he finds refuge—and courage—only in “Madame Courage.” Under its effect, he feels invincible and says “Even the wind won’t touch me.” Omar is without a job or any prospects. He is totally lost. The only thing left for him to do is squander his time in the city and survive from petty theft. One might think that Allouache is coming down hard on the youth, but the film’s focus on Omar’s hardships and helplessness evokes sympathy for this young man, despite his criminal activities.
“Poverty is the mother of crime” said Marcus Aurelius, and Allouache seems to suggest that the government is to blame for this vicious cycle, which begins with impoverishment and ends with tragedy. It is a paradoxical situation because the country is wealthy, but the government is indifferent to the needs of the population, particularly the lower classes. Indeed, while Omar is portrayed as a delinquent with a capacity for violence, he also shows an appealing human side. For example, he feels remorse when he notices his victim’s pain and immediately gives her back the stolen necklace. The basic humanity of even this petty criminal is a theme that Allouache has explored elsewhere. In films such as L’Autre monde (The Other World, 2000) and Le repenti (The Repentant, 2011) the protagonist is a terrorist who is also portrayed as a youngster who falls in love and aspires to a more decent life. Perhaps Allouache is suggesting in these films that fanaticism and terrorist violence are ultimately snares for these vulnerable beings, torn between their teenage and adult selves, between the lies of their rulers and the harsh reality of their daily life, and between their commonplace desires and the promises and demands of Islamist discourses.
Similar to the other films by Allouache, Madame Courage addresses this subtheme of religious zeal. In several scenes we see Omar following Selma in the streets while we hear the muezzin’s calls for prayer in the background. Omar’s mother is often shown doing her home chores while listening to religious sermons, either on radio or television, that establish the moral code for all aspects of life, from women’s role in society to cleanliness. It is clear that to Omar, at least, these rules are becoming suffocating. In one instance Omar tells his mother that someday he will break the television set on her head.
Nevertheless, despite the film’s depiction of the range of social forces oppressing the youthful hero, the element of personal responsibility is not ignored. The squalor of the slums and ghettos, as shown in the film, is a particularly graphic testimony to the huge disparity between the upper and lower classes. But in one scene we see Omar standing on the sidewalk at night under Selma’s window next to empty garbage bins that are surrounded by mountains of uncollected trash. In this case one has to ask whether this problem is the responsibility of the government or the people, or perhaps both.
On the website Africultures.com, Olivier Barlet points out the similarities between the Omar of Madame Courage and the main character of Omar Gatlato. Both Omars face the same issues of youth, and Madame Courage shows that the problems of unemployment, poverty, prostitution, and, most important, the scourge of Islamic fundamentalism, have in fact only worsened. Both Omars are also incapable of expressing their feelings for the women they love; the best that the later Omar can do is to stalk Stella and wait for hours outside her building just to catch a glimpse of her. One should also note, finally, the symbolic presence of the Mediterranean Sea in both films, as indeed, in most of Allouache’s works. The viewer is aware constantly of its presence in the background—placid, sky blue, and watching from the other side as if it were a witness to what goes on. Unfortunately, all the characters, without a single exception, turn their backs to the sea and pay no attention to it as if it were not even there, despite its godlike presence.
