IMDb
No stars yet


Drama · 1952 · 21 min
Les Plongeurs Du Désert
Les Plongeurs Du Désert, directed by Tahar Hannache in 1952, is considered the first entirely Algerian fiction film. It tells the story of the inhabitants of an oasis whose well has dried up. The village elder, Sheikh Messaoud, calls upon the renowned desert divers, artisans specializing in clearing sand- and silt-filled wells, to restore access to the vital water for the community. After their intervention, the water begins to flow again, bringing relief to the oasis and its inhabitants. The film depicts the contrast between the traditional techniques of the divers, embodied by Sheikh Ali and his son Mansour, and the arrival of modernity, represented by the machine that ultimately replaces their craft. This story symbolizes the marginalization of local knowledge in the face of technological progress and the social injustice of the colonial era.
Sign in and build your archive. The best notes get written right after the credits roll.
Sign in → top right
Les Films Tahar HannacheNo streaming info for United States at the moment.
IMDb
No stars yet
Rotten Tomatoes
The tomato isn't ripe
Metacritic took the day off
TMDB
10.0 /10
1 votes
Letterboxd
Letterboxd didn't respond
Weighted average
10.0/10