Far from Men

A magnificent adaptation of Albert Camus' novel the Guest starring Viggo Mortensen. The year is 1954 and the Algerian resistance against the French colonial regime has begun. Mortensen, who has learned both French and Arabic for the role as the idealistic French teacher Daru, is tasked with escorting an Algerian dissident to the nearest town, Tinguit, to be hanged. Daru has both Spanish and French ancestry and does neither feel at home with the Algerians nor the French. The mission of carrying the condemned Arab forces him to take a stand. Mortensen is perfectly cast as the lead idealistic teacher. He does not want to bring the condemned to his death, but still end up with the fateful choice of undertaking the journey. The director has managed to build up Far from Men with a voltage curve similar to the best western films, combined with both the humanism and the moral dilemmas that lies deep in Camus' novel. The result is one of the year's best films, which has earned applause at international film festivals, garnered both critical acclaim and several public prices.