''Bâton Rouge'' is a 1985

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

film directed by

Rachid Bouchareb Rachid Bouchareb (born 1 September 1953) is a French film director and Film producer, producer. His films are based on the complex history of France and its relationship with its former colony, Algeria. His films also examine racial discriminati ...

Synopsis

In a town on the outskirts of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Karim, Abdenour and Mozart search for small acting jobs. Karim's father reassures him that he will someday become someone important. Abdenour, orphaned, promises his brother that he may soon withdraw from

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

. Mozart, a saxophonist, dreams of going to America, to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, which he considers the capital of

blues music Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. The dream soon becomes a reality in the wake of Abdenour falling in love with Becky, a young American, and thanks to one of his friend's tricks allows all of them to obtain airline tickets to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Their pursuits continue across the Atlantic.

Cast

Jacques Penot Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

: Alain Lefebvre 'Mozart' *

Pierre-Loup Rajot Pierre-Loup Rajot (born 9 February 1958) is a French stage, television and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He is a 1985 César Award recipient for Most Promising Actor for his performance in the 1984 comedy film ''Souvenirs, So ...

: Abdenour *Hammou Graïa : Karim *Frédéric Wizmane : Bruno *

Katia Tchenko Katia Tchenko (born 8 May 1947) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows since 1967. In 1999 she was a member of the jury at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival The 21st Moscow International F ...

: Director of DASS *

Larbi Zekkal Larbi Zekkal (19 May 1934 – 17 September 2010) was an Algerian film actor and comedian. Personal life Larbi Zekkal was born on May 19, 1934, in Algiers, Algeria. He died on September 17, 2010, in Algiers, Algeria at age 76 after falling from ...

: Karim's father *Elaine Foster : Victoria Paine *Romain Bouteille : Monsieur Temporaire *

Jacques Frantz Jacques Frantz (4 April 1947 – 17 March 2021) was a French actor. Nominated for the Molière Award, he was renowned for his theatre work, and his voice, which he lent to many actors, such as Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, John Goodman, and Nick N ...

: Fast-food manager *Christian Charmetant : Architect *Alexandra Steinbaum : Becky

External links

* French comedy films 1985 films 1980s French-language films Films directed by Rachid Bouchareb 1980s French films {{1980s-France-film-stub