Time Lost – Nostalgia and Trauma in Postcolonial French Film

Krzysztof Loska

Abstract

Taking as his starting point the assumption that film is a medium through which important political and cultural issues can be discussed, the author focuses on the image of ethnic and national minorities in French film, especially on the impact of the colonial past on the postcolonial present. He analyses films from the turn of the century made by directors originating in the former colonies: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and struggling with their dual identity (amongst others Hassan Legzouli, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmèche, Philippe Faucon, Rachida Krim, Mehdi Charef, Thomas Gilou). Loska discusses their work from the perspective of postcolonial theories, paying particular attention to two ways in which the passage of time is presented: first nostalgic – expressing the longing for what was lost and the desire to return (for example to the homeland left behind), second one – traumatic expressed through the inability to come to terms with the loss, and in failed attempts to repress unpleasant memories and deal with the trauma.