Set in 1959, during the French occupation of Algeria, Intimate Enemies opens with two divisions of French soldiers inadvertently firing upon each other. It’s a bad omen that sets the tone as these men are put through the gruelling, psychological wringer. The French are locked in combat against Algerian rebels, otherwise known as the FLN, or “fellaghas”, when idealistic Lieutenant Terrien (Benoît Magimel) arrives on the scene. Partnered with hard-bitten Sergeant Dougnac (Albert Dupontel), the pair are tasked with eliminating an elusive rebel commander known as Slimane, whose forces overrun the Forbidden Zone.
“You can’t fight barbarism with barbarism”, believes Terrien. Early on he foils two incidents of torture, winning the respect of a young, Algerian boy named Amar (Lounès Machene). But Terrien struggles to retain his principles amidst the horrors of war, and finds himself becoming the kind of man he despised.
Barbarity exists on both sides of this conflict, as filmmaker Florent Emilio Siri shows the FLN senselessly slaughtering a whole village to “make an example”, while the French troops utilize electroshock torture and machinegun women and children to avenge one of their fallen. Beneath this gritty veneer it’s a fairly conventional war drama, as cynical, no-nonsense Dougnac and a series of harrowing incidents gradually wear down the sensitive, easygoing Terrien. One doesn’t require in-depth knowledge of the Franco-Algerian conflict to appreciate the “war is hell” mantra and, while episodic, the plot is never less than engrossing.
The politics behind the war are largely restricted to a remark from Terrien (“If Algeria is part of France we should start giving everyone equal rights”), but the moral dilemmas faced by Algerians fighting alongside the French are nicely illustrated in the experiences of Said (Lounès Tazairt), whose wife and sons were butchered by the fellaghas, Rachid (Abdelhafid Metalsi), who unwisely tries to swap sides, and an encounter with FLN fighter Idir Danoun (Mohammed Fellag), who fought Nazis with the French during World War Two.
Florent Emilio Siri pulls off a nightmarish combat sequence, wherein scattered sheep mingle with fleeing soldiers, all riddled with bullets. It climaxes with an air strike that sweeps everyone away in a carpet of flame, leaving an aftermath of charred, twisted bodies. He’s equally adept at poignant scenes, as when a home movie moves the soldiers to tears with images of fallen comrades. Magimel and Dupontel both register strongly as the chalk and cheese military men, although the fiercely pragmatic Captain Berthaut (Marc Barbé) remains something of an enigma. The conclusion regrettably dismisses Terrien’s vanished compassion as “stupid idealism”, suggesting that in war only the emotionally withdrawn survive.
