Syrian family in Brittany | "The Barbarians" in cinemas: Second-choice refugees

The large village, the small town, the provincial community—people like to convince themselves that the world they secretly fear and should keep outside is actually perfectly fine here. Paimpont, in the somewhat picturesque Brittany region, doesn't have a particularly large population, but it does boast a significant percentage of unemployed, alcoholic, and depressed residents. At least, that's what the dedicated teacher Joelle claims in the film "The Barbarians," which is coming to German cinemas about ten months after its theatrical release in France. Joelle is played by Julie Delpy, who also directed the film.

The agency had originally sought Ukrainian refugees, but they are "highly sought after on the refugee market," according to mayor and sawmill owner Sébastien (Jean-Charles Clichet), so the Bretons had to make do with the Syrian Fayad family. The Zelenskyi portrait in their accommodation was quickly replaced with a painting of a mermaid. To make matters worse, the Fayads worked in Damascus in professions not practiced in Paimpont: father Marwan (Ziad Bakri) was an architect, his sister Alma (Rita Hayek), who lost a leg in the war, was a doctor, his wife Louna (Dalia Naous) was a trained graphic designer, and grandfather Hassan (Helou Fares) was a poet. And then there were the quiet son Wael and daughter Dina, with whom the village youth immediately fell in love at the bus stop.

The blunt cliché of a "clash of cultures" turns out to be a "clash of qualifications." The Fayads speak English and halfway French, and the women aren't veiled, so the sleazy shopkeeper Philippe (Mathieu Demy) feels compelled to remark to his secretly drinking wife Anne (Sandrine Kiberlain): "The Syrians look like gypsies." This could be quite amusing. The Syrian family is greeted with graffiti on the wall of their new home: "Barbarians out!" Barbarians, as is well known, are all those who don't speak Greek very well. But the arrival of the strangers from the war zone gradually causes the quiet community to reveal its secret, suppressed conflicts. The depressive picturesqueness crumbles.

Originally, they had applied for Ukrainian refugees, but they are "highly sought after on the refugee market," which is why the Bretons have to make do with the Syrian Fayad family.

In the first half of the film, which is divided into acts in keeping with Western cultural heritage, a camera crew accompanies the integration project, so that those involved are constantly striving to present a positive image. The plot is told through interviews and staged visits. This way, any slight disruption to the exemplary cosmopolitanism can ultimately be edited out. But at some point, the broadcaster loses interest in the Fayads and Paimpont; after all, they're all just a pre-dinner story; they have others in store. The situation escalates after the communist, anti-vaccination, and organic farmer Yves (Albert Delpy) gives the Fayads his small farmhouse to prevent it from going to the bank, and because Louna is taking care of the artichokes for him.

From the very beginning, plumber Hervé (Lauren Lafitte) finds the strangers a thorn in his side because, in his opinion, he's not doing well, or rather, not well enough. He's very, very hardworking and from here. He finds online conspiracy theories the support his world no longer provides. His frustration is a godsend for the identitarian movement's 'popularity' fakers. What follows is a broken pipe, a broken house, a broken marriage, a broken nose, and a difficult birth on the beach.

Despite the Fayads' escape story, "The Barbarians" is a rather light-hearted film with a happy ending that largely functions as a comedy. Yet Julie Delpy, who became known primarily as an actress but has been making films herself for almost 20 years and was nominated for an Oscar as a screenwriter, manages to bring serious questions to the screen: What problems arise when strangers depend on each other without being at peace with themselves? How can a warm-hearted desire to shape a community arise when the only thing that holds it together is the fact that one is never away? What is wrong with the desire to be needed?

There have certainly been far more harrowing stories of escape in cinema over the past few years, but "The Barbarians" casually offers a critique of the business of escape, the instrumental relationship with those in need. The film also shows how people who have forgotten how to speak up hide behind political platitudes that contradict their entire appearance and goodness. Overall, therefore: educationally valuable.

"The Barbarians: Welcome to Brittany": France 2024. Directed and written by Julie Delpy. Starring: Julie Delpy, Sandrine Kiberlain, Laurent Lafitte, and Ziad Bakri. 104 minutes. Release date: June 26.