Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.
The owner of an industrial pallet and truck repair yard, nicknamed Mao by his Arab and African employees, likes to try to keep everyone happy and productive, as long as it doesn’t affect his bottom line. But the accord between labor and management goes awry when Mao creates a mosque in the yard.
The third feature by auteur Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche is this subtly observed take on the French-Algerian immigrant experience. Integrating thorny themes such as religious belief and workers’ rights into the very core of the story, Dernier Maquis is a warmly crafted Ken Loach-style drama.