By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Roschdy Zem
Starring: Denis Podalydès | Maurice Bénichou | Nozha Khouadra | Salomé Stévenin | Sami Bouajila
Original language title: Omar m'a tuer
Country: france, morocco
Year: 2012
Running time: 85
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1710590/
Bruce says: “OMAR KILLED ME holds great promise but falls short. Based on an autobiography by Omar Raddad, the film documents the events and trial surrounding the murder of a wealthy woman Madame Pascal, living on the Côte d’Azur. For years she employed a Moroccan gardener who has moved to the south of France to give his family a better life. Her gardener’s son Omar (Sami Bouajila) who also worked on her property was charged with her murder in 1991. On the wall near her corpse written in her own blood were the grammatically incorrect words ‘Omar m’a tuer.’ In 1994 a French journalist, Pierre-Emmanuel Vaugrenard (Denis Podalydès), is convinced by a publisher friend to cover the case in the style of In Cold Blood.
“The film tracks the efforts of Vaugrenard to finish and publish his book before Omar Raddad’s trial in hopes that the facts in the book will influence the outcome. What Vaugrenard discovers is quite shocking. The only link to Omar is the writing on the wall. No weapon was discovered and there was no forensic evidence found linking Omar to the crime. Omar is further handicapped in defending himself because he does not speak French. In other words Omar is a convenient scapegoat needed to close the books on the case quickly.
“In the end OMAR KILLED ME seems like half a film. The acting is decent but the character development is paper thin and a subplot or backstory wouldn’t have hurt. For example the script could have delved deeper into what was going on with Omar’s family, the judge and lawyers. In its current state OMAR KILLED ME feels more like a TV police procedural than a full-length narrative film. Visually, Roschdy Zem (famous French actor turned director) tells what there is of the story quite well. He is currently working on a new film. Let’s hope he has a more robust script next time around. 3 cats
“(OMAR KILLED ME screened at the 2012 New Directors/New Films Festival jointly sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum
of Modern Art.)”