Les indésirables (Bâtiment 5)

The elevator has been out of service for years. So, the coffin is carried down many floors via the stairs. With its opening scene, Ladj Ly immediately confronts us with the grim reality in Bâtiment 5 a residential tower in a suburb of Paris primarily inhabited by people of African descent. Four years ago, Ly shook up the French film industry with his cinematic fragmentation bomb Les Misérables. Les Indésirables - that's the English title; in French, it's simply called Bâtiment 5 - doesn't fall far behind in terms of its power. After the sudden death of the mayor, a young doctor takes up the position and is eager for power, viewing his residents primarily as voting material. The other main character is Habi, who advocates for the residents of the housing blocks and quickly runs into problems with the policies of the new mayor. A confrontation is inevitable...

“Les indésirables establishes Ladj Ly’s project as investigating the conditions of France’s urban margins through a sequential focus on different institutions. Les misérables, like Season One of The Wire, was about the police; Les indésirables is about public housing itself.” - Little White Lies