Challenging representations of Muslims and cultural métissage in the ethnic comedies L’Italien (2010) and Mohamed Dubois (2013)

French Islam and the new ‘ethnic’ comedies in context

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the French cinema has been enriched with films like Sauve-moi (Christian Vincent, 2000), Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran (François Dupeyron, 2003), Il était une fois dans l’oued (Djamel Bensalah, 2004), Camping à la ferme (Jean-Pierre Sinapi, 2005), Mauvaise foi (Roschdy Zem, 2006) and Le Grand voyage (Ismaël Ferroukhi, 2004) that offered new perspectives on the French society. They have introduced the French audience to the realities of the Maghrebi families and their complex relation to France and to the country of origin of the first generation, the Maghreb (or by extension the Arab world). If, in the colonial and postcolonial cinemas, the Muslim culture was either quasi non-existent in the films or identified with the return of these groups to the ‘source’ of their religion, the Maghreb, the more recent movies show Islam as an integral part of the contemporary French society (Cadé, 2011; Gaertner, 2008).

In defence against the terror that the 9/11 attacks instilled in the West and against the fear that the French population has developed against the increased number of Muslims on its territory, the films of the last 20 years promote the presence of an Islamic practice that is different from the universally accepted practice in the Muslim world. Apart from a few isolated cases of religious radicalization and violence against the population that have ravaged France during the last few years, ² Muslim individuals and communities open their doors to communicate with the rest of the population. ³ In their repeated declarations, they want to insist on the adaptation of Islam to the republican practices and values: liberty, equality and fraternity in a tolerant environment. Once again, Muslims in France use any political, activist or artistic means to make the same statement: that the Islam practised in France by the majority of its adepts is a moderate Islam.

First and foremost, one needs to understand that there is no communitarian and unifying practice of Islam in France. Due to diversity in the ethnic backgrounds of Muslim immigrants within France, one cannot talk about a universal practice, but more of an individual practice of Islam. Same as Christianity, Islam has several religious groups such as Sufism, Salafism, Alevism, the Druze, the Alaouite, and so on that correspond to certain communities in France like the Maghrebi, the sub-Saharan Africans, Turks, Lebanese, Pakistani, and so on. As an overwhelming majority of the individuals of Islamic faith in France are from the Maghreb, the greatest numbers of Muslims in France are Sunni Maliki. In this percentage, the young people of second generation are also included as being part of the community regardless of their will to practice the religion or not. The later are born and raised in France in the republican spirit and they often identify first as French and second as Franco-Maghrebi and Muslims. The fact that they were born in a Maghrebi family allowed them to learn about Islam or attend certain religious and cultural ceremonies in the Arabic culture such as the Eïd, religious marriages, the circumcision or the practice of the Ramadan. ⁴

Actually, the young Franco-Maghrebi chose to have a personal approach to Islam that does not conflict with their republican values. According to Bowen (2004: 44), they promote a French Islam that signifies, at the same time, an allegiance to the Republican principle of ‘one and indivisible’ and a respect of Islam and their family’s faith. The French Islam is defined by Bowen as being tolerant of other practices and as one that has been modernised and that does not follow the Qu’ranic laws strictly (p. 44). In the moderate practice of Islam in France, its believers, for their majority, reduced drastically their times for prayer; they are not necessarily wearing any religious ostentatious sign like the head cover or the veil and are not consuming halal meat. This modern approach to Islam wants to show the adaptation of the Muslim and Maghrebi communities to the French context. It also marks their respect for the Law on Secularism voted in the French parliament since 1905 (and revisited in 2011). This law imposes a clear separation between the state and the religious practices in France and dismisses any display of ostentatious religious symbols in state institutions and public spaces. For centuries now, the majority of Muslims in France have been showing respect to the Republican laws and adapted their faith to a European context. All these aspects are shown in the films mentioned earlier that treat the topic of the Franco-Maghrebi Muslims in French context.

Despite the positive and inclusive approach that contemporary films about Islam try to take in the French cultural scene, the Franco-French and Franco-Maghrebi filmmakers are still quite circumspect to the reactions of their audience to these sensitive topics in the society and to the stereotypical representation of Muslim characters (Cadé, 2011; Tarr, 2014). While promoting a general message of tolerance and cultural understanding as the end result, the films underline also some cultural opposition that exists at a deeper level. The distinction in the French society between ‘us’ (French born citizens) versus ‘them’ (the Maghrebi or the Muslims) is still present in the public and cinematic discourse and there are numerous prejudices that transpierce the story plots. Therefore, the contemporary filmmakers came to the realisation that the best approach to such a complicated issue was the comedy genre. ⁵

By using humour and comedy in the language, behaviours and gestures, the filmmakers can communicate subtle messages to their audience. On one hand, they caricature the contradictory attitudes of both Franco-French against Muslims and the Maghrebi reactions to French bourgeois groups. On the other hand, the films propose possible solutions to the debates concerning cultural and religious integration of Franco-Maghrebi to the new diverse French context. By representing the comic interaction of the two social and cultural groups (the Franco-French and the Franco-Maghrebi) in the same context and cultural space, the filmmakers bring closer these individuals and make them talk to each other and find a positive resolution to the encounter, as, after all, these comic situations in which both groups find themselves facing each other and truly entering in dialogue can only lead to a mutual understanding and cooperation. The films show in conclusion that a cultural métissage between the young generations is foreseeable; however, the struggle of bridging the two groups is still present.

Popularity of the ‘ethnic’ comedies in French and Francophone context

The movies analysed in this chapter have been very popular with the French and Francophone audience since their first public showings. They were produced approximately at the same period, between 2010 and 2013, and were distributed through the Multiplex screenings across France. Presently, they are available for purchase in DVD and Blu-ray formats or on Internet screening platforms. Some of them can be found in free screening on YouTube or other platforms and have more than one million views.

Olivier Baroux’s film, L’Italien, released in 2010, found an unexpected reception with the French public from its first week: more than a million entries in the box office. ⁶ It is available in DVD format and online screening as well as YouTube. These are clear proofs that it can still be considered a popular comedy for the French audience due to its availability. Mohamed Dubois by Ernesto Oña, released in 2013, had a smaller success at its release, with 374,837 box office entries only. ⁷ These numbers in the box office entries and the availability of the films online and on DVD attest of their importance in the French and Francophone comedy scene as popular productions. They became referential for the representations of Franco-Maghrebi communities in the French context and for talking openly about contemporary issues in the French politics such as integration, secularism, racism and the presence of Islam in France.

The success of the movies among the French and Francophone audiences can also be explained by a multitude of other factors. First of all, the comedy genre chosen in the aforementioned movies contributed to the appreciation and to the popularity of these films by a French and Francophone audience. This genre has known a long tradition in France for years (starting with the 1950s) and its success led to the familiarisation of an international audience with the French comedies. Therefore, the new comedies discussed in this chapter follow a well-known tradition that fills in a certain horizon d’attente in the French cinema. Moreover, the filmmakers and their teams did a very thorough work in choosing the right cast for those films. It is certain that the notoriety and the charm of the main leading actors of Maghrebi/Guadeloupian origin contributed to the success of these productions. Kad Merad ⁸ and Eric Judor ⁹ are highly acclaimed actors, comedians and entertainers who can add to the promotion of a positive image of the Franco-Maghrebi/ethnic communities in France. The choice of these actors in leading roles in the two comedies analysed in this article is a clear proof of the success the comedies acquired in France and abroad.

Another element that helped with the promotion of these ethnic comedies was the social and cultural context discussed at the beginning of the article that favoured the promotion of diversity on the screen. The cultural productions from 2005 on arrived at a beneficial time for the popularisation of non-French born characters. The Franco-Maghrebi artists as well as journalists issued from the mixed suburbs in France come to the attention of producers and screenwriters who bring them into the mainstream. In this cultural context, Baroux’s and Oña’s films focus on the destiny of fictional characters belonging to the minority communities in France as representative examples of the young ‘second generation’ immigrants and their families. What renders them notorious is precisely their particularity to stand out from the crowd as well as their visibility in the French society. The films’ characters like Dino/Mourad and Arnaud/Mohamed are examples to be followed by their peers in the French society. They are presented as typical Franco-Maghrebi young people able to blend in the French ‘melting pot’. At the same time, they can handle the family traditions or work their way around certain practices. Sometimes the films present scenes of friction between the young Franco-Maghrebi people and their parents or between the young Franco-Maghrebi people and the French bourgeois parents’ generations. Nevertheless, the misunderstandings are quickly solved and overcome. Some prejudices and stereotypes are underlined with reference to both communities to show that the need for dialogue and understanding is a two-way street and, therefore, a joint effort. The artistic productions manage to create, with the use of the comic situations, an idea of vivre ensemble (conviviality) despite cultural and religious differences.

However, this vision is not shared by all the French audiences. At times, certain film critics or certain representatives of the Franco-Maghrebi community voiced their concerns online and in public discussions in cultural and academic contexts regarding the stereotyping of a certain image created around the young Franco-Maghrebi people in the cinema and on television. They claim that those comedies create a stereotypical image of the young immigrant individuals and of their families. The films can run into clichés that are not universally valid and transferable to all Franco-Maghrebi people. The characters are easily identifiable as ‘Arabs’ due to their facies and to their traditional clothing during family festivities. They have always a best friend from the majority population group, usually identified as the ‘Français de service’ (typical French person, blond hair, blue eyes, clearly ‘adopted’ by the Maghrebi family). They dream of leaving their birthplace, the banlieues, for the main city (the city of Paris or Nice). Even if they have a strong tie with their environment, they constantly feel the shame of being identified with this geographic space. Although very much culturally and sexually liberated, they are still very reserved and shameful in their relationships with their Maghrebi parents. Even though this cultural barrier was overcome by the young French individuals in the movies, their families have a hard time accepting that their descendants frequent or date ‘Arabs’ that are perceived as a different race or as foreigners to the French culture. The films present many situations of amalgamation between Arabs and terrorists or between Muslims and salvages. A total reversal of these roles happens in Oña’s film, Mohamed Dubois, when the young aristocrat Arnaud wants to become an authentic ‘Arab’ and looks for acceptance into the Franco-Maghrebi community. The comical reversal of the scheme where a representative of the majority group wants to identify to the ethnic ‘other’ is emblematic of a good lesson to be learned by the French nationals: understanding the other cultures and individuals that have been co-existing on French soil for generations is not an easy task to achieve. The films transmit a message of openness to dialogue with the Franco-Maghrebi citizens by trying to put the French-born representatives in their shoes.

With all these considerations in mind, it is beyond doubt that the movies analysed in this article remain important artistic landmarks in the ethnic comedies of the 2000s that are trying to offer a positive representation of the Franco-Maghrebi individuals in a certain cultural and social context that has shown hostility to Islam and some of their cultural practices in France. The main characters in those movies have come to signify cases of negotiation of a personalised way of integration for the Franco-Maghrebi youth in search of role models.

L’Italien

The film L’Italien is the account of the story of Mourad Ben Saoud (aka Dino Fabrizzi), a Franco-Maghrebi young man, who pretends to be Italian to maintain a prestigious sales job at the Maserati dealership in Nice. He aspires to get the promotion to the position of sales manager in the same company. His identity transformation started when Dino/Mourad moved from Marseilles to Nice and was looking for an apartment to rent but he was constantly turned down due to his Maghrebi name. He noticed that his facial appearance could help him pass for Italian and he realised that although this new identity is a minority one as well, it is more tolerated and even considered classy by the southern French society. With the passing of time, and with the growing success in his job, Dino/Mourad gets used to his new identity to the point that his boss, his colleagues and even his Franco-French girlfriend, Hélène, do not suspect anything. The complication in the story plot comes when, while visiting his Maghrebi father to the hospital after a stroke, the latter asks his son to keep the Ramadan for him. Like much of the young people of Maghrebi origin, Dino/Mourad is a Muslim by birth due to his family background, but he is not a practicing Muslim. And, even more so, he turns out to have very little knowledge about the Islamic practices of his parents’ religion.

Baroux’s film can be interpreted as a story of identity negotiation for a Franco-Maghrebi young man in the French society (Caquot Bagett, 2013). On one side, he is torn between being like the majority population and therefore being accepted as ‘one of them’. And, on the other, he does not want to disappoint his family that wants him to be respectful of their traditions and of their religion. Before being put in this delicate situation by his father, Dino/Mourad had no problem in adapting to the situation according to the context: being a secular French person in his professional and social interactions in Nice and being a Maghrebi with his family while returning to visit them regularly. The absence of any religious reference in the character’s daily routine at the beginning of the movie presents Dino/Mourad as a totally integrated Franco-Maghrebi individual who lives his life in accordance with the Republican principles. Baroux shows the clear adaptability of the second-generation immigrants on the French soil and the ease to blend in if given the chance to belong. The fact that his return to the ‘origins’ is determined by an exterior event out of his control provokes sympathy from the audience for the main character who finds himself in a very delicate position. The public’s empathy resonates with him in the fact that it makes them reflect on their own complicated identity position in a pluri-ethnic and religiously diverse France.

The character of Dino/ Mourad offers therefore the image of a young Muslim who is not in opposition to the French identity, but who is also capable of adapting to the social and cultural environment. His identity is in constant transformation and negotiation. Or, to use Carrie Tarr (2014) term, Dino/Mourad’s identity is an ‘identity in process’ (p. 521) as he is flexible and capable of adapting to any daily challenge the society imposes on him. He is Italian by day and Arab for the weekend without seeing any contradiction in being both. As an Italian, he is charming, funny, talkative and very clever in the social interactions. His ‘Italian-ness’ inspires confidence to the buyers and the respect of his peers like in the case of Nadja, the secretary of the dealership. He is highly viewed by his boss, Charles, who sees in him a successor. Although the young man thinks that it is his declared Italian-ness and his presupposed Catholic faith that get him the respect and the appreciation of the others, it is certainly Dino/Mourad’s personality, team spirit and work ethic that contribute to this perception. Despite the stereotypical view on Maghrebi young people in France seen as lazy and uneducated, Dino/Mourad shows the contrary. He is hard working, intelligent, educated and charming with a better performance overall than his rival colleague, Cyril. It is for this reasons that he is conscious of his value for the company and he aspires to the management position as it seems that the job is ‘fait pour [lui]’ [custom made for him]. ¹⁰ Without considering any request for positive discrimination or any kind of incentive, the spectators can see that the young man is the perfect fit for the job.

His family in Marseilles is not aware of his double identity game, except for his younger sister. They think he is working in Italy for Maserati. They are very proud of their son and of his professional accomplishments in the Western society as the mother proudly states: ‘des Arabes dans des postes de directeur général, ça ne doit pas courir partout’ [Arabs [occupying] positions of general manager, it is not a common practice]. The mother’s discourse is exemplary of a certain pride that the first generation of Maghrebi immigrants have towards their descendants that managed to make a better living for themselves in France compared with the first generation that was just tolerated at the beginning of their arrival in France. If the mother sees some progress in the mentalities in the contemporary society where young Franco-Maghrebi can integrate easier to the mainstream, she is also critical of the same society in the past. She recalls that their trajectory in the hexagonal France was not as smooth as they were not asked to integrate, but to assimilate or not to disturb the functioning of the society as a whole.

The film, although positive in tone overall, makes a fine critique of some discrimination acts and misconceptions that are still present in the French society. The main character is fully aware of the public perception towards people of Arabic descent as he faced the challenge of being discriminated against while trying to settle down in Nice. While meeting his girlfriend’s family, he needs to go through the habitual questions about his background and his religious beliefs. Even, the comment of his boss when he finds out that Dino/Mourad lied to him all the time while being his employee is illustrative of a slightly prejudiced position of his French boss in regard to the ethnic minorities on French soil: ‘Dino, si tu t’étais présenté sous ton vrai nom, je t’aurais quand même embauché. On se serait un peu plus battus, mais tu aurais trouvé ta place parmi nous’ [Dino, if you presented yourself here by your real name, I would have hired you anyways. We would have had to fight it through, but you would have ended up by finding your place among us.] Charles mentions the idea of a French society that, far from being perfect and inclusive, is willing to make an effort to be open-minded and tolerant towards the representatives of minority groups. He is aware that this position requires some dialogue and mutual understanding and that it takes time to entirely put it into practice. By being in contact with the other, one can overcome fears and prejudices and foresee a better understanding of the other cultures and beliefs that are present in the contemporary society. In this sense, the film is very pragmatic by trying to talk about the possibility of negotiating a place inside the mainstream for the new generation of young people with an ethnic background like the Franco-Maghrebi. The double belonging of people like Dino/Mourad would slowly turn from being perceived as a ‘trouble d’identité’ [troubled identity] (Derrida, 1996: 32) into being seen as an advantage, an added value to the multilayered identity that is transpiercing in contemporary France.

This idea is supported by Dino/ Mourad’s best friend, Jacques. As an artist, Jacques is interested in the symbolic and aesthetic value of contemporary debates about national identity in France. Finding inspiration in his friend’s double identity (French and Maghrebi) but being in a state of in-between-ness himself (French and Jewish), he stresses on the importance in making a distinction between the original identity (the birth identity) and the desired identity (that one chooses to have). Therefore, he supports the idea of an identity ‘in the making’ that is always in movement and in a process of transformation (echoing Stuart Hall’s, 1997, idea of identity seen as a representation, an identity in process (p. 210)) like in the case of his friend Mourad. The perception of the identity seen as a social construct in function of the situation and the need for recognition reinforces the relativity of the definition of identity in a plural society like today’s France. The film presents therefore Dino/Mourad as a malleable individual, able to adapt to both the Maghrebi and the French culture and to both religions (Christianity and Islam) as two non-contradictory elements in his identity.

Dino/Mourad gets so comfortable in the ‘other’’s skin that he goes on playing this role with his French girlfriend, Hélène, as well. Being afraid of losing her by revealing his true identity from the beginning of the relationship, Dino/Mourad finds it increasingly difficult to confess it to her as the relation progresses. Torn by the prejudices Franco-French people might have towards Muslims (not drinking alcohol, not eating pork, keeping the Ramadan, praying, being violent or even being terrorists or radicals, etc.) that have been in the back of his mind growing up in France, Dino/Mourad finds it hard to bring all these issues up with his girlfriend when he decides to start the Ramadan. However, it is obvious that the practice of Ramadan and the purification of the body and soul that it entails cannot be hidden from someone so close to him as his girlfriend. Hélène had no reason to doubt of anything before as she did not see any physical or behavioural trait that could characterise her boyfriend as Muslim or as Arab. By stressing on this aspect, the film transmits the message that the Muslims are discriminated against in the West not necessarily for their look or for their behaviour, but due to their religion. The more he hides his true identity and tries to cover his religious practice, the more suspicious his colleagues, boss or girlfriend get. But when they find out his real origins and identity, they are not bothered by his belonging to a minority group and by his religion; instead, they are disappointed by his lies. Even though his intentions are valid and his disguise non-harmful, he is disqualified from his social position by his un-ethic attitude. When the comedy ends with his confessions to Hélène and to his boss and his revelation of his authentic self, his world falls back in place. He is welcomed in Hélène’s family and given his job back. A Franco-Maghrebi of Muslim culture can be welcomed into the mainstream culture when he is seen as a trustworthy individual willing to adapt his practices to the French lifestyle without completely changing his beliefs.

Nonetheless, the movie can be seen as a real success for the public also for the simple reason that it presents openly and explicitly the practice of Islam in France. As mentioned earlier, before its release, there were not a lot of films that exposed the audience to an exploration of Islam and its understanding by the first- and second-generation immigrants in France. Except for mentioning the alcohol ban or the fact that Muslims do not eat pork, seeing the parents pray in their bedroom or seeing some women veiled circulating in the banlieues, the Franco-French and the Franco-Maghrebi films focused mostly on social aspects of Arabs lives. On the contrary, under the pretext of showing Dino/Mourad’s apprenticeship of the principles of the Ramadan, the film introduces the public to these same principles and explains this practice. Despite his bringing up in a Muslim family, Mourad has broken up with the family traditions since his teenage years, and he needs to relearn everything from scratch. A close-up shot in the movie shows Mourad reading the book L’islam pour les nuls (Islam for Dummies) like any non-connaisseur would do. Like any person interested in a religious or cultural phenomenon he starts researching more about Islam and the meaning of the Ramadan. He moves even further by going to see the imam at the mosque to seek spiritual counselling. Despite his embarrassment, he is forced to admit in front of the imam that he is not practicing his religion and that he lost touch with his Muslim roots. His knowledge about Islam seems to be limited which proves that like many other young Franco-Maghrebi, he is more French than Maghrebi and he adapted his religious views to a secular context. The message that the movie is putting forward is that there is not a strict religious practice in the Muslim community in France, especially in the new generations that grew up in France. With the slow acquisition of knowledge about Islam and after the exchange Mourad had with his secretary, he starts to develop a better understanding of his family’s religion.

Numerous panoramic and long shots present him doing the ritual ablution before prayers and breaking the fasting with friends and family in a sign of respect and consideration towards his family and community’s beliefs. The audience develops along with him an understanding of the role of the Ramadan for the Muslims and the necessity of such a practice as a founding pillar of Islam. ¹¹ This practice requires fasting (purification of the body), abstinence and prayer (purification of the mind) to acquire piece of mind and humility. The Ramadan is considered to be the month in which the Qu’ran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. As a result, Ramadan is also known as the month to recite the holy text even more eagerly and with renewed dedication to completing the task. It is also a challenge of avoiding ill speech, arguments, loss of temper and malicious behaviour. The whole point of the fast is to demonstrate submission to God and keep the mind focused on a spiritual level. It is the lesson given to Mourad/ Dino by Nadja who confesses to him that the practice of Ramadan is a very personal one for each Muslim. She sees it as beneficial for the individual as she can acquire ‘une conscience plus reposée dans un corps plus sain’ [a clear conscience in a healthy body]. The fact that they can openly talk about their beliefs, like in the case of Nadja’s confession, is illustrative of an acceptance of the young generation of Muslims of their double status: as the children of the Republic and as Maghrebi people respectful of their birth culture. They do not question their faith in the French context as it is more a certain spirituality that they are looking to grasp. For them, Islam is seen as a spiritual and cultural awakening that defines their individuality in France.

By showing to the audience a more direct depiction of the Ramadan practice in a comedy environment, Baroux is presenting a more humanistic side of Islam. The movie sets the tone for a more positive perception of Muslims who are very moderate in their practices for the most part. The imam with whom Dino/Mourad establishes a connection turns out to be a moderate person who preaches tolerance and understanding between religions and cultural groups. From the encounters between the two men, we can understand that the imam is aware of the position of the second-generation Muslims on the French soil and is able to adapt his advice to the realities of the Western world. The insertion in the movie of a moderate Muslim preacher offers a counter-discourse to the self-proclaimed Islamist preachers who can be found in some unofficially declared mosques in some French suburbs. The scenes of the dialogues between the spiritual leader and the young Muslim(s) support a new reading of the Qu’ran from a modern lens as well as an ‘educational’ tool for the detractors of Islam seen as an instigative religion towards violence and intolerance.

Baroux’s artistic production therefore conveys a message of tolerance towards moderate Islamic practices like the ones presented in the film. Even though the movie sometimes cleverly includes ‘cultural clichés and easy sentiments’ (Mintzer, 2010) as a way of establishing success with the comedy among a larger audience, it is able to convey a message of conviviality and intercultural exchanges. The adherence of the Franco-Maghrebi to their family’s culture (or faith) does not constitute an obstacle in the way of mixed marriages or intercultural friendships. Overall, their beliefs and behaviours do not obstruct their societal interactions that are in total accordance with the spirit of French secularism. The film is making a social justice statement by showing the acceptance of Islam as a legitimate component of Frenchness. Baroux has chosen a cultural form to look closely at the place the Muslim Arabs like Mourad occupy in France in the current context of fear of the other and Islamophobia. His film presents the challenges and the stereotyping that Muslims in France face before being accepted as French citizens with full rights by the majority population. At the same time, it shows the positive attitude towards an integration of the Muslim characters to the French society. This same scheme is applied to other comedies of the same period where the main characters are trying to adapt to a certain pre-established lifestyle and identity like in the case of Arnaud/Mohamed in Ernesto Oña’s film Mohamed Dubois.

Mohamed Dubois

The same message of tolerance and integration that L’Italien tries to convey is promoted in Oña’s film. However, this time, the process of integration and adaptation is reversed. It is not a Franco-Maghrebi who is trying to ‘fit in’ the French society at large, but a Franco-French bourgeois young man, Arnaud Dubois, son of a rich banker in Paris, who is desperately looking to become an Arab. Led to believe, judging by his physical aspect (‘gueule d’Arabe’), that he is the result of his mother’s youth affair in Tunisia with a tennis instructor, Arnaud/Mohamed wants to get back to his roots. Being constantly mistaken for an Arab while being a security guard in his father’s bank, in the night clubs frequented by the young Arabic community, by his friend’s parents or by the police inspectors who detained him, he ends up believing in this new identity. When he falls in love with Sabrina, a Maghrebi young woman from the suburban estates, Arnaud decides to change his identity from Arnaud Dubois to Mohamed Bouchouche. However, this transfer of identities is not as simple as Arnaud had imagined. Having an Arabic appearance is not enough for the young man to blend in the banlieue community and to be accepted as ‘one of them’.

There is more to one’s identity than the ‘look’: the language, the culture, the behaviour and the religion. It is obvious from the very beginning that Arnaud is a misfit in this world. He does not have the basic language and cultural references that would allow him to integrate to the group easily. First of all, Arnaud/Mohamed is unable to understand religious and cultural jokes like Mustafa’s joke when he tells him that the first 30 days of the Ramadan are the toughest ones. Arnaud has only a vague idea about the Ramadan, one of the pillars of the Islamic faith, requiring Muslims to fast for a whole month before the Eïd celebration that marks the end of the fasting. Second, the fact that he does not speak Arabic or does not even know how to pronounce a few Arabic words that are already very familiar in the Western society such as ‘hallal’, ‘hadj’ or ‘khôl’ betray him in front of his friend’s family and in front of his girlfriend. When Sabrina’s mother or her brother, Mustafa, address him in Arabic or dropping some usual expressions like ‘miskina’, ‘Inch’Allah’, ‘psartek’ (congratulations), a series of misunderstandings follow. By placing these cultural and linguistic references in the film, Oña is aiming at giving a moral lesson to the French audience who is capable of stereotyping and incriminating a community without a solid cultural base. The director is aware of the fact that the audience watching the movie might have the same doubts as Arnaud/Mohamed and he offers a French translation of these words on the screen. These details make it obvious that the film targeted a larger French public who is not very familiar with the Franco-Maghrebi or Muslim’s cultural background. Despite portraying a certain proximity to each other, the movie is trying to suggest that the two cultural groups do not have a real chance to mingle. If they did, they would have a better understanding of each other’s culture and identity. This affirmation is true in the case of Arnaud/ Mohamed who is ignorant in what concerns Maghrebi culinary delights as well. While invited to have dinner at Mustafa’s family, Arnaud/Mohamed mistakes the harissa for ketchup, and he burns his throat with a large quantity of this product. Equally, he is disgusted by the fact that he is offered the lamb’s head for the Eïd’s feast as a sign of appreciation for the guest of honour. For the Maghrebi people, the head of the lamb is considered a delicacy, but for an outsider, this item can be seen as barbaric food choice.

More so, Arnaud/Mohamed is impressed by the camaraderie and the solidarity that exists between the people in the neighbourhood. He is introduced by Mustafa to his friends that immediately offer him shelter in their own apartment and a job in their kebab restaurant. The young man also learns quickly about the feelings of respect and honour that guide the ethnic communities in France. Besides helping and trusting each other as brothers, the young people Arnaud/Mohamed frequents watch out for each other and for the honour of their families. To be respected in the community, the young girls have to behave themselves and choose their company wisely. Out of respect for his friend Mustafa, the young Franco-French man is trying to learn their customs and behave by the book with his sister, Sabrina. He is courting her, but he is aware that to gain her trust and respect, he has to establish a close relationship with her family. As he is told by Djamila, the Maghrebi worker in his parents’ household that proves to be his confessor, in the Maghrebi culture, when one marries a girl, he marries her whole family. In other words, establishing a sentimental relationship with a Franco-Maghrebi girl becomes almost a contractual endeavour.

Finally, Arnaud/Mohamed proves to be a quick learner and he ends up by being accepted in the Franco-Maghrebi community. He embraces the cultural group and their lifestyle. However, despite his efforts of integration, his cultural and financial backgrounds distinguish him from the rest of his banlieue’s friends. When the truth about his origins comes out, Arnaud is in shock as he confesses to the housekeeper: ‘Alors je ne suis pas Arabe. Wallou, même pas chouia’ [So, I am not Arabic. Nothing, not even a bit.] Oña’s message seems to be a general truth worth be told to his audience that one does not choose where he is born or his origins, but the place of birth, the physical aspect and the financial and educational background do matter, especially in the French given context. Djamila, a representative of the visible Maghrebi community in France who is aware of the struggles of Arabs in France (such as racism and discrimination), reassures Arnaud that he is in a privileged position and that he should take advantage of the situation: ‘Tu as une change incroyable d’être né là où tu es né. Peu importe les circonstances’. [You have an incredible chance to be born where you are born. The circumstances are not important.] It is obvious that being born in a bourgeois family with French solid grounds brings more advantages to young people like Arnaud than belonging to a visible minority in France. Starting from his education, his profession (as a banker), as an heir of the family’s business as a result of being the only child, Arnaud/Mohamed has a paved future ahead of him. It is clearly not the case of his peers from the banlieue like his best friend Mustafa who’s a talented chef with considerable experience in the field, but no financial power to start his own restaurant and lead a comfortable life. It is only with the help of his Franco-French friend and due to his connections and skills that the young Franco-Maghrebi manages to succeed. The film shows that there is still a certain dependency between the clearly established social groups in France. As a matter of fact, the artistic production, despite ending in a positive tone, with a win-win situation on both sides of the spectrum, also reinstates the eternal stereotypes and prejudices existing in contemporary France. On one side, it presents a possible dialogue and cooperation between the Franco-French and Franco-Maghrebi groups. The film has a happy ending with Arnaud marring Sabrina after revealing to both families the truth about his identity. Sabrina and her family accept Arnaud for who he is and welcome him to their family. Arnaud’s family complies with their son’s happiness especially as it opens a whole market for profitable investments for their bank.

On the other side, we encounter in the film the same stereotypes that appear in other similar movies such as L’Italien, Il reste du jambon? or Aïcha. We still have a geographic separation between the groups as well as a cultural one. French people are depicted as characters having power positions like Arnaud’s father position as the head owner of the Berthier bank. His mother is a bourgeois distinguished woman who is spending her time between charitable work and taking care of her looks. Characters like Arnaud are highly cultivated as he makes references to Shakespeare, to good champagne, to exquisite food and exotic locations like Monaco, but they are lacking cultural insight about the ethnic communities living in France like the majority Franco-Maghrebi populations that has been living for generations in the same country. As for the latter, they are the typical lower-middle class citizens living in the outskirts of big cities like Paris. Mustafa and his friends have the typical complexions of what has come to be known as the stereotypical Arabic ‘look’: dark skin, brown eyes, fizzy-curly hair, and so on. Their behaviour is also relevant in this sense: they are constantly frustrated and even violent (like in the episodes when Mustafa has to deal with the uptight bank representatives rejecting his business plan because of its ‘ethnic’ twist), loud when interacting with the others, using a certain type of language in which Arabic words and expressions can be found and passible of getting into small petty business like illegal commerce, the black market or drug dealing. At the same time, the filmmaker is making a real effort in showing their opposite side. He stresses the positive behaviours for which the society and the community appreciate them: they are hardworking people, people with dreams and with motivation to accomplish them, they are friendly and trustworthy when it comes to their close circle and even very resourceful and business oriented.

One notable fact about this movie is that Maghrebi women in this film are portrayed as strong characters with agency as opposed to previous productions before the 2000s where they were secondary characters. Sabrina is a strong, independent woman, who imposes herself in front of her brother, his friends or her parents. She is a policewoman with a strong sense of justice. She practices box despite the stereotypical view that this is a masculine sport. Her mother is a remarkable character as well and certainly the head of the family as understood in the episode when she is taking control over the conversation at the dinner table reducing her husband to a puppet by not allowing him to utter any sentence.

Except for Arnaud who has a darker complexion and who is mistaken for an Arab throughout the movie, the other Franco-French characters are typical representations of the Gauls: light eyes (blue or green), blonde or light hair colour, delicate and fashionable like Julie (the policewoman, partner of Sabrina) or like Catherine, Arnaud’s mother. By purposefully portraying Arnaud with different physical traits, the filmmaker is insinuating that the French identity can be easily mistaken for light Caucasian traits whereas in reality is much more complex than that. Not even all Franco-French people have stereotypical white skin or light hair as in Arnaud’s case. Equally, a simple look at the streets of big cities in France will attest to the racial diversity existing on the French soil. France has been a meeting ground for diverse races and cultures for centuries and we can certainly see the mixes in the society. Those stereotypical views exist only because they are perpetuated in the collective conscience of the French citizens or through TV and media coverage. This appears to be true in the case of the mixed couple (Arnaud and Sabrina)’s offspring: their blue eyed, blond hair baby. In a metaphorical or symbolic way, Oña is playing with the idea of a fixed French identity promoted by the politics and social institutions that is overcome by the reality of the multi-layered construct (Yuval-Davis, 1999: 120) of citizenship identity arising in contemporary France.

Even if Arnaud/Mohamed ‘failed’ to identify as an ‘authentic Arab’, his adaptation and integration to the Franco-Maghrebi community is a sign of tolerance and cultural and religious openness of certain French people towards the Maghrebi community. It constitutes an attempt of acceptance of the ‘other’ and of his background in an inclusive multicultural society. By reversing the roles, Oña is accustoming the Franco-French audience to the daily realities of the Muslim Arabic communities in France. The religious references are presented in a spirit of demystifying the Islamic practices of the moderate Muslim population in the French context that are not at all in opposition to the secular practices promoted by the French state. It sends a message of peace and mutual understanding by stressing on a desire or an urge from the Franco-French majority to go to the encounter with the other (in this case the Arabs) and their religious culture that are slowly becoming integral part of the multicultural French society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in spite of the cultural and religious challenges that the couples Dino/Hélène and Arnaud/Sabrina face at a societal, familial and interpersonal level from discrimination, racism, cultural or linguistic misunderstandings, intolerance towards their religious practices or lack of reasonable accommodation, the films culminate with a happy resolution of all these issues. The mixed couples, even if they are ‘marked’ as different, arrive at a mutual acceptance in their family and community circles. By showing individual cases of integration, the filmmakers are transmitting a message to the society that an interaction between groups is foreseeable and the possibility of ethnic mix is becoming more and more a reality in the French cultural context. At the end of the films, the young Franco-Maghrebi find their place through the majority Franco-French and acquire the desired recognition both within the family and the social environment. The artistic productions suggest that most (if not all) cultural and social differences can be overcome through dialogue and cooperation between the two social groups. The Islamic religious references are scarce and do not interfere with the daily routine of the Franco-Maghrebi people. As a matter of fact, as noticed, there are very few references to Islam and the movies stress an image of a tolerant version of Islam, a Westernised form that adapted to the French republican values.

However, I agree with Colleen Hays (2016) that despite the efforts of integration of the Franco-Maghrebi characters to the French society in the 2000s films, there is still a stereotypical view of these characters always portrayed as the ‘Other’ whose real intentions and behaviours are questioned by the dominant Franco-French viewer. While trying to break through the stereotypical depictions of young ‘Arabs’ as poor, delinquent and uneducated, the contemporary French and Francophone cinema still depicts them as having a marginal status in the society, as being always aware of their differences.

Notwithstanding the ‘privileged’ position of Mourad and Sabrina of encountering their true love in the personification of a Franco-French, the other Franco-Maghrebi characters in the films are still portrayed as stereotypical, culturally and geographically separated from the dominant French society. Their actions are still guided and their privileges are still granted by the Franco-French dominant society that (un)intentionally sets the rules. Finally, although the intentions of the filmmakers are remarkable in trying to connect the two social and cultural groups through sentimental unions, the films are yet reminiscent of a certain neo-colonial view of the Franco-Maghrebi on French soil.