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‘Les Indésirables’ Review: Ladj Ly’s Fiery Followup to ‘Les Misérables’ Is Another Statement Against Social Inequality in France
Oscar-nominated director Ladj Ly returns with a new ensemble piece centering a marginalized community facing constant institutional violence.
Near the end of the political drama “Les Indésirables,” a precisely angled wide shot of a run-down apartment complex depicts the immigrant families that have inhabited it for many years throwing their most precious belongings over their balconies in a last-ditch effort to save them. That Pierre invites Christian Syrian refugee Tania (Judy Al Rashi) and her father to have Christmas dinner with his family makes evident (maybe too overtly) the selective treatment of those perceived as foreigners, depending on race and religion. Ly’s projects belong to the same group of French films focused on the unseen segments of society ( cinéma de banlieue) as Mathieu Kassovitz’s now seminal “La Haine,” but their lack of narrative finesse exposes them up to unfavorable comparisons.
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