Adieu

Under threat in Algeria, Ismahël emigrates to France. Given that Ismahël holds only a temporary tourist visa and is under no direct threat by his government, he is refused political asylum. He is interrogated and detained in a retaining center before being escorted by force back to Algeria. In the letters that he writes to the daughter that he left behind in his homeland, he tells his own story in the guise of the biblical tale of Jonas and the Whale. Somewhere in France, an elderly farmer has just lost his young son in an accident. His three other children help him as much as they can to get through the trial of the funeral, but the ceremony is halted when the old man falls ill. These two stories unfold parallel to each other and are alternated. (Viennale)