A teenager girl learns some vital lessons about growing up as her family struggles with a variety of crises in this drama from French filmmaker Katell Quillevere. Anna is fourteen years old and attends a Catholic school for girls. With school on Easter break, Anna's mother Jeanne takes her to visit her grandfather Jean, whose health is failing and may not have long to live. Anne is startled when she learns that Jeanne and her father Paul have split up, particularly given Jeanne's devotion to the Catholic Church. As Jeanne struggles with the collapse of her marriage, she seeks comfort in the counsel of Father Francois, but Anna suspects he may be offering more than spiritual advice. Meanwhile, Anna strikes up a friendship with Pierre, a boy her age who lives nearby, and she's torn between her blossoming desires and the strict teachings of the church.

An Algerian family struggles for freedom in this lavish historical drama from filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb. Opening with a preface in which French colonists force an Algerian family from their home in 1925, the film jumps forward to 1945, as Allied forces announce their victory in Europe. The news coincides with a demonstration in Setif, in which Algerians demand their independence from France. Said is more interested in boxing than politics, but when his father is killed and his brother Abdelkader is arrested by French troops during the protest, his attitude begins to change. In 1953, Said makes a living running a bar and looking after a handful of prostitutes, much to the chagrin of his mother, and his brother Messaoud returns home from a hitch in the army, where he fought for France in Indochina. Messaoud decides to put his military training to use by joining Abdelkader in a rebel group, the National Liberation Front, to drive the French out of Algeria. French military officer Colonel Faivre refuses to deal with the NLF, and assembles a secret battalion to counter their actions, leading to bloody conflicts in the streets.

Hors-la-Loi (aka Outside the Law) was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where screenings were picketed by right-wing groups who objected to the film’s anti-colonial message.

Men of faith find their pacifist beliefs put to the test in this drama inspired by a true story.

Christian is the leader of an order of Trappist monks living in the hills outside Algiers. The community outside the monastery is almost exclusively Muslim, and the monks have worked to foster understanding between themselves and their neighbors; they observe Muslim traditions, are well versed in the Koran, and provide medical and charitable assistance to the townspeople. The monastery is an oasis of calm and peace as Algeria is caught up in a civil war, with forces led by Muslim extremists leading a bloody campaign against the nation’s rulers.

Christian and his monks do not wish to take sides in a conflict they believe is immoral; they refuse the protection of the military while also denying aid and comfort to the insurgents. The monks’ efforts to remain outside the war, however, have ugly consequences when they’re taken hostage by a band of Islamic revolutionaries. ~ Mark Deming, Allmovie