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Apr 27, 2015 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

Viggo Mortensen is back, this time speaking French, Arabic, and a little bit of Spanish in writer-director David Oelhoffen’s period drama, Far From Men. Set in the midst of the Algerian Revolution in the 1950s, the film has a prestigious literary history: it’s adapted from Albert Camus’ short story, The Guest. It tells of Daru (Mortensen), a schoolteacher ordered by the French government to escort the accused murderer Mohamed (Reda Kateb) to the city of Tinguit for trial and a very likely execution. Daru, a veteran who wishes to avoid sides in the nascent war, reluctantly agrees, much at Mohamed’s own insistence.

The film is an impressive and entertaining achievement in which Mortensen yet again proves he’s capable of shouldering a film that lives or dies based on its ability to deliver equal parts action and drama. Where it trips—and it’s a minor stumble—is that it’s inherently episodic. This is due to the nature of the conflict against which its set, and more specifically to Oelhoffen’s obvious desire to explore the political climate in Algeria 60 years ago. The journey Daru and Mohamed embark upon is only supposed to take two days, but each sunrise finds them thrust into a new and unpredictable situation. At one point, they’re captured by rebels familiar to Daru who threaten him into taking sides in the war. Later on, the duo comes across a squad of French soldiers who emphasize their government’s stance on the revolution. Even later, Daru and Mohamed wind up in the small village where Daru grew up; sentiments are yet again different there. All these encounters and detours flow almost naturally into one another, but Oelhoffen’s hand is visible each time, guiding Daru and Mohamed on one path, one moment to the next. Need Daru and Mohamed meet every detour? For us as viewers to get a more three dimensional understanding of the Algerian independence movement, the answer is “yes.” From a story point of view, the response becomes less clear. Daru and Mohamed are engaging characters, and though the myriad diversions they experience together bring elements of their backgrounds and histories to light (revelations that deepen their bond and propel the heart of the film forward), they’re sometimes overshadowed by the events unfolding around them.

Despite its episodic structure, Far From Men is a powerful and engaging piece of cinema, a film that owes its success to equal parts its source material, Oelhoffen’s skill as a director, and powerful performances from Mortensen and Kateb.

www.tribecafilm.com/tribecafilm/filmguide/farfrommen

Author rating: 6/10