Bourlem Guerdjou directed this French-Belgian-Norwegian-Algerian co-production, a drama set in the Paris suburbs during the early '60s. Algerian immigrant Lakhdar (Roschdy Zem) works at a building site and lives in a corrugated metal hut. Since Lakhdar is literate, he helps others send letters home. He misses his wife and children and invites them to come live with him. However, his wife Nora (Fadila Belkebla) is disturbed by life amid the shantytown squalor and becomes politically active. In hopes of moving his family into an apartment, Lakhdar moonlights at a warehouse night job. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide