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The Olive Trees of Justice

Play trailer 1:30 Poster for The Olive Trees of Justice 2022 1h 21m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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The first and only narrative feature by American documentarian James Blue (Oscar-nominated for A Few Notes On Our Food Problem), The Olive Trees Of Justice holds the dual distinctions of being the only French film to have been shot during the Algerian War, and to have been the inaugural winner of the Critics prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962. Filmed in Algiers and the surrounding countryside during the late stages of the Algerian War, under the pretext that it was a documentary about the wine industry, the film depicts the Algerian struggle for independence from the French by concentrating on a young "pied-noir" (Frenchman of Algerian descent) who returns to Algiers to visit his dying father. His memories of boyhood on his father's farm are told in flashbacks with a lush serenity that contrasts to the teeming, tank-filled streets of contemporary Algiers. Giving the film a neorealist tone by shooting in a documentary style and enrolling a cast that consisted largely of non-professional actors, including author Jean Pelegri who wrote the autobiographical novel from which the film is based, Blue tells a powerful story of common people living and struggling in their daily lives, while providing a valuable testimony to the complexity of the Algerian situation in that time period.
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The Olive Trees of Justice

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 01/18/2022
[Blue] depicts the nuances of irreconcilable inequalities, the web of local subtleties that both compose and miss the historically big picture. Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl 04/27/2022
Jules Rascheff’s black-and-white cinematography is stunning yet absolutely without mannerism, so that this film often feels like a documentary, an effect further aided by the use of mostly non-professionals in the cast. Go to Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension 01/30/2022
Jarre's work here supplements Blue's dialectic docudrama with an elevating touch of ironic longing and nostalgia. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 01/27/2022
We get a poignant sense of nostalgia (complete with flashbacks to Jean's childhood) as well as glimpses of racial inequity, and a strong sense of the inevitable necessity of change. Go to Full Review Neely Swanson Easy Reader (California) 01/26/2022
The acting, primarily by non-professionals with the exception of Jean Pélégri who played Jean's father, is exceptional. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
The Olive Trees of Justice

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Cast & Crew

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James Blue

Director

Pierre Prothon

Jean

Jean Pélégri

Jean's Father

Marie Decaître

Jean's Mother

Huguette Poggi

Cousin Louise

Said Achaibou

Saïd

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The Olive Trees of Justice

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The Olive Trees of Justice

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Movie Info

Synopsis The first and only narrative feature by American documentarian James Blue (Oscar-nominated for A Few Notes On Our Food Problem), The Olive Trees Of Justice holds the dual distinctions of being the only French film to have been shot during the Algerian War, and to have been the inaugural winner of the Critics prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962. Filmed in Algiers and the surrounding countryside during the late stages of the Algerian War, under the pretext that it was a documentary about the wine industry, the film depicts the Algerian struggle for independence from the French by concentrating on a young "pied-noir" (Frenchman of Algerian descent) who returns to Algiers to visit his dying father. His memories of boyhood on his father's farm are told in flashbacks with a lush serenity that contrasts to the teeming, tank-filled streets of contemporary Algiers. Giving the film a neorealist tone by shooting in a documentary style and enrolling a cast that consisted largely of non-professional actors, including author Jean Pelegri who wrote the autobiographical novel from which the film is based, Blue tells a powerful story of common people living and struggling in their daily lives, while providing a valuable testimony to the complexity of the Algerian situation in that time period.
Director
James Blue
Producer
Georges Derocles
Screenwriter
James Blue, Sylvain Dhomme, Jean Pélégri
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Société Algérienne de Production, Studios Africa
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 21, 2022, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jan 21, 2022
Runtime
1h 21m