''Turk's Head'' (french: Tête de turc – the expression also has the colloquial meaning of 'scapegoat' or '

fall guy Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party. Origin The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...

' in French) is a 2010 French

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed and starring

Pascal Elbé Pascal Elbé (born 13 March 1967) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Pascal Elbé was born in Colmar, Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand ...

Roschdy Zem Roschdy Zem (born 27 September 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker of Moroccan descent. He shared the award for Best Actor for his role in the film '' Days of Glory'' at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Career Versatile and determined to not ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

actress, Ronit Elkabetz also star. It was released in France on 31 March 2010. The film was inspired by the real-life incident in 2006 in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

where a group of impoverished teenagers torched a bus, severely burning a female passenger. It received its international premiere 'in competition' on 31 August 2010 at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

, this will be followed by a theatrical release in Canada on 10 September 2010.

Plot

Set amidst Marseille's immigrant suburbs, a devastating chain of events unfolds when 14-year-old Turk, Bora, hurls a

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...

at a car. The occupant is an emergency doctor who has been called out to attend to a woman with cardiac problems. Regretful, the teenager rescues the injured doctor who ends up in a coma. The saga continues with the doctor's brother seeking to find the perpetrator.Montreal World Film Festival: On the fringes of lawlessness, an arsonist saves his victim
Montreal Gazette. 1 September 2010

Cast

as Atom *

as Simon * Ronit Elkabetz as Sibel, Bora's mother *Samir Makhlouf as Bora *

Simon Abkarian Simon Abkarian (Armenian: Սիմոն Աբկարյան, born March 5, 1962) is a French-Armenian actor. Life and career Born in Gonesse, Val d'Oise, of Armenian descent, Abkarian spent his childhood in Lebanon. He moved to Los Angeles, wher ...

as Le veuf * Florence Thomassin as Mouna *

Valérie Benguigui Valérie Benguigui (8 July 1961 – 2 September 2013) was a French actress and theater director. Born in Oran, Algeria, she took acting courses at the Cours Florent and the National Chaillot Theatre School. Her first film role was in Francis ...

as Yelda * Monique Chaumette as Nora, Atom's and Simon's mother *

Laure Marsac Laure Marsac (born 18 February 1970) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 1984. Filmography References External links * Actresses from Paris 1970 births Living people French film actresses Most P ...

as Claire, Atom's girlfriend * Stéphan Guérin-Tillié as Samuel Levasseur *

Gamil Ratib Gamil Ratib ( ar, جميل راتب; 18 August 1926 – 19 September 2018) was an Egyptian actor. He appeared in television and film productions and briefly in theater over a 65-year career. He was known for numerous villainous roles and his appe ...

as Aram *

Moussa Maaskri Moussa Maaskri ( ar, موسى معسكري) (born 15 November 1962) is an Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital ...

as Irfan * Adèle Exarchopoulos as Nina *Léo Elbé as Nuri *

Annie Grégorio Annie Grégorio (born 4 April 1957) is a French film and theatrical actress. Theater Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorio, Annie French film actresses 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actre ...

as The nurse *Brigitte Catillon as The mayor

Production

For the project, Elbé undertook extensive research: "I met with social workers, emergency doctors and policemen.. I also saw completely neglected housing estates, where there are no longer any police stations within a 2km radius.. For me, it’s a socially-engaged film.. I took inspiration from the films of Robert Altman,

Paul Haggis Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...

and especially those of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. I told myself it was risky, but there was no reason not to try this in France." The director also researched the real-life perpetrators of a Marseille bus attack that influenced his narrative, "What shocked me most was that one year later, the youths didn’t speak up during the trial and never asked for forgiveness", explained the director. "As though their prison sentence had served no purpose. And as though our social pact had been shattered to pieces." Character-driven roles were an important element for Elbe, as he explained the development of his preferred character, Sybil (Elkabetz). "I think of the mother as a cowboy in a skirt. She keeps her dignity, because if she falls, everything else does. Through her, I wanted to pay homage to all those mothers in the banlieues who raise the kids alone because the husband has gone. I chose an actress who reminds me of those great Italian stars of the postwar period, like

Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...

." At a cost of €5.5m, the film was produced by Alicéleo and France 2 Cinéma co-produced the project. The film also received financial backing from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC).New releases
Cineuropa. 31 March 2010

Reception

The film received a positive reaction from ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' newspaper. Their reviewer, Jean-Luc Douin praised the "engaging" film for "tackling society issues and confronting questions of morality". ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' praised Elbé for "embracing themes of violence, the code of silence, and love all serviced by a reasonable cast." The newspaper continued to describe it as a "tremendously humane film". It was screened at the 2010

and subsequently the city's only English-language daily newspaper, '' The Gazette'' gave the "remarkable drama" 4 out of 5 stars.Montreal World Film Festival: So many films, so little time, so many opinions
Montreal Gazette. 1 September 2010

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turk's Head (Film) 2010 films 2010s French-language films French thriller films Warner Bros. films Films set in France 2010 thriller films Hood films Films about race and ethnicity Thriller films based on actual events Films scored by Bruno Coulais 2010s American films 2010s French films