Arthur Rambo (2021) Movie Script
OK, five, four, three,
two...
"She is my mother,
this woman with the smooth face,
"dark eyes,
and hair covered.
"She has been walking
my country's streets for 30 years.
"She takes care of her children
and of others' children.
"She is from a generation
of astronauts born on the moon.
"France was chosen for her,
"but France didn't choose her.
"The Republic is not
one indivisible whole.
"My mother is a divide,
and I am what's left over of it."
These, Karim, are your words
that we just listened to,
from your book, Landing.
The first questions that comes up
after reading this is,
and maybe it's a nave question,
but what does your mother
think of this book?
My mother is a very reserved woman
who is not in the habit
of making her feelings known.
Life has taught her not to
overly display herself,
that's what she says.
But yes, I hope she's proud.
Well, of you, surely.
No, not only.
I hope she's proud of herself,
of her journey,
and of having to be able to regain
some power over her story.
You speak well about her journey,
including about this moment,
that return to Algeria,
when her father,
your grandfather, has just died.
Those are your first steps
in that country.
What did you find there?
I would say mobility.
My mother arrived in Bagnolet
very young. I was born there.
Here, in France,
we've remained frozen in place,
both geographically and socially.
When I went over there I discovered
the possibility of mobility.
You weave this personal story in
with a story about France
from the point of view
of immigration.
The projects seen from the inside.
An urgent read.
What you said on TV
really grabbed me.
This is going to grind some
bougie neighborhood teeth.
You're stirring up a hornet's nest.
Bravo, Karim.
Your story is ours.
Thanks for finding the words for it.
Your mom is admirable.
In January
we'd like to have writers do
some cultural chronicles
every week.
Do you think that might interest you?
Totally. I've just got to check
my schedule, because right now,
things are a bit busy,
but why not?
Of course.
We'll discuss it another time, then?
-I'd love to.
-Racism exists.
Quick selfie?
Thanks for reminding us.
Our apartheid society is headed
for ruin. Landing proves that.
Your anger is lucid,
and you describe it so well.
Great show.
Karim D. was a great success
on "France" Television.
-Hashtag KarimD, hashtag Capstv.
-Add hashtag proud.
We need books like Landing.
A mother-son story
of rare intensity.
Landing: 223 pages of pure joy.
Thanks you for Landing
and for CapsTV.
It's so relevant.
A state of affairs
for French immigration.
More powerful than any essay.
Landing makes us grasp
the wrongdoings of colonization.
You're speaking for us, Karim.
Thank you.
THERE IS A CERTAIN POETRY
TO THE SOUND OF KALASHNIKOVS
HASHTAG PARISATTACKS, HASHTAG ISIS
My little Karim.
I feel like it lasted for ages.
I couldn't take it anymore.
Very lively, very relevant.
-Really?
-Yeah.
-Here.
-Thanks.
This is magical.
Wait.
Zineb:
"I read Karim D's beautiful book,
"and all I can dream of
"is to be given it again."
Love her.
Did you see that the hashtag
"Karim Landing" made it to the top 5?
Yes, I saw.
We were wondering, are you thinking
of doing something for the book
on your channel?
It's a different audience,
but that could be a good thing,
right?
-I don't know.
-Yes.
Bringing the book
to a younger audience,
now that's of interest.
Yeah, but self-promoting
on a channel
we created to give a voice to
the voiceless isn't very classy.
True.
You're right, it's a bad idea.
Alright, we have to go.
I got you a car.
-Hurry up, OK?
-Yeah.
Don't show up with 12 people.
Come, if you're worried.
No, I have to make
your fan club wait.
It's a black Mercedes.
That driver's name is Thierry.
-Five minutes.
-Got it.
-Hurry, OK? This is important.
-Yes. Thanks. See you soon.
Karim, we saw you on TV.
You're killing it.
Keep it up.
We love you, Karim.
We're proud of you.
You're our pride.
My brother, everyone respects him.
Baseball hat and Timbs.
Fans all the way to China
Journalists want Karim yeah
They want to meet the boy
Grandson of a builder, oi
Listen to your summons mate
France is biting the bait
-Who is it?
-Karim!
-Who's that?
-Karim!
Evening.
-You just did that show, right?
-Yeah.
Prface, Eva Louise's show.
Oh, so you wrote a book, then?
Yeah, it came out
a few weeks ago.
I have to admit
I don't read that much.
I have a Web TV, too.
Are there any videos
I might have seen?
Maybe the one
with the ministry of the interior,
it made the rounds.
Where he loses it over immigrants,
and the guy insults the journalist?
Well, the journalist was me.
No way!
Did you see the song they wrote?
Yeah.
"Shut up, you're talking
to a minister.
"Be quiet, you're talking
to a Minister of the Republic."
CAN'T PARTY TONIGHT.
SEEING MY PHD AVISOR TOMORROW.
LOVE U.
Sorry, I have to make
a quick phone call.
Yeah, it's me.
You did really well,
you were really calm and clear.
You're good,
I'm proud to know you.
Yeah, I get it.
Sorry about tonight
but I'm not going out.
Come on, come, please.
I need you to be there.
You'll be in high demand,
I don't want to spend the evening
bored by myself in a corner.
Don't be silly.
Please, I'd like you to be there.
To see you strut around
like a proud peacock?
Do I usually act
like a proud peacock?
No, seriously, I have too much work.
I can't.
That's alright, I understand.
-You going to come by after?
-Yes.
-I love you.
-I love you, too.
See you later.
You know I have like 50 buds
who subscribe to your videos?
Really?
You know,
I don't really have much time,
but you can write
about my life, if you want.
I'm an Uber driver by night,
but in the day,
I'm starting a company.
-Oh yeah, what are you making?
-Dough, bro!
-How's it going?
-Hey, how are you?
-Good, you?
-Yeah, I'm good.
-Hey, how are you?
-How's it going? See you later.
Congratulations.
They wanted great replacement theory,
they sure got it.
-You were awesome.
-Great job.
Easy now, you'll wreck him.
-You were great.
-Shall we have a drink?
-Handsome guy.
-You were really good.
-So?
-I'm tired.
It was tense.
No, don't worry,
it was a great show.
-Want a drink, then, or...?
-Come on.
No, we have to go, or...
Come on, that's why everyone's here.
Alright, just one, and then we'll go.
-Cheers to you.
-But come!
Don't count on me,
I have to work,
got a fashion show in three days.
And it'll be all about you.
-It'll piss me off.
-Come on.
-Jealous!
-Here, Sam.
Quit hanging with her.
-You got it?
-We're going to be late.
-Join us after?
-Maybe.
-Alright, guys, we're going.
-Ciao.
HOW ABOUT A HOLIDAY IN AUSCHWITZ?
THERE'S STILL ROOM ON THE TRAINS.
HASHTAG JEWSOFFRANCE
HASHTAG PRESIDENT OF FRANCE,
HASHTAG SECULARISM
There he is.
Come.
Is it all going well, are you happy?
-Yes, great.
-Good.
Well, congratulations,
the show was very good.
Delighted you enjoyed it.
-Let me introduce you.
-Congrats.
-Thanks.
-Bravo.
This is Claude, you remember?
-We know each other.
-A pleasure.
-Thank you for your novel.
-I'm touched.
Is it alright
if we take a selfie?
-I'd be happy to.
-Thanks.
Thanks a lot and congratulations,
really.
-Thanks.
-Karim, I'm off.
See you later.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
-Thank you.
-Who's it for?
-Marie-Pierre.
Marie-Pierre.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
He's not alone,
there are a lot of things
coming out.
Sure,
but Karim stands out,
no doubt about it.
I agree with you,
but the competition is steep.
Fine, there is interesting stuff,
but with Karim,
it's autofiction,
but it shirks any kind of narcissism.
And that moves me,
and it'll move other people.
-Thanks, master.
-Go ahead, laugh in my face.
-See you later.
-Yup.
See you in a second.
Hey.
How are you?
Great, you?
Great.
-Hey, Gilles.
-Karim, how's it going?
-Good, you?
-Congratulations on the show.
Thanks.
I hope you don't have holiday plans,
the tour's going to be brutal.
You still OK to do the book signings?
We're hitting the big ones.
Mollat in Bordeaux...
Marie will email you.
And she has to check with Servane,
there are more requests.
We're doing another print run,
15,000 copies.
And we have loads of foreign demand.
England, Germany, Italy, for now.
You're changing status right now,
you realize that?
No.
It'll be fine, don't worry.
CAN WE SCREW
THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR
UP THE ASS WITH A POLICE BATON?
HASHTAG TOEACHTHEIRTURN,
HASHTAG POLICEVIOLENCE
They're right there. I'll show you.
I'm bringing him over.
-Evening.
-Evening.
-You know Tania Delcour?
-Of course.
I'm a bit awestruck
to be meeting you.
-Come on, don't overdo it.
-I'll try.
You're the one who's these people's
messiah tonight.
You deserve it.
Your book is very powerful.
Thanks.
Tania wants to buy the rights.
-Really?
-Yes.
You don't come across
that every day.
Your book devastated me.
The writing is cutting,
it's spot-on.
I'm not really sure what to say.
If you want, I'd be delighted
for you to have the rights.
To be totally honest,
I have a proposal for you.
You wouldn't want
to direct this movie, would you?
Well, I'm not a director, so...
Well, you didn't say no, did you?
Huh?
I don't make such proposals
to just anyone.
It's just intuition here.
No one is in
a better position than you
to adapt this book.
I don't know.
Honestly, you've sort of
caught me off-guard.
I'm not sure I'd want to adapt
my own book,
or look for an actress
to play my mother.
-I don't know.
-I can understand that.
Something to think about, maybe.
Yes, I don't know,
let's have lunch and talk it over.
I'd be happy to.
-I've sent you his contact info.
-Perfect.
Got it. Let's do it fairly soon.
Shall we meet up this week?
-Totally.
-With Nicolas, if you want...
-We can have a three-way lunch.
-Yes.
Evening.
-How are you doing?
-I'm good, thanks, and you?
If you'll forgive me,
I'm going to borrow him for a second.
Certainly.
-See you soon.
-Bye.
Company parties
aren't really my thing.
Know what she offered?
-What?
-To direct the movie of my book.
Oh, that's good.
-How you doing?
-Great.
Let's mark the occasion.
I haven't forgotten.
I hope not.
There.
Put a filter on at least.
Landing,
in theaters soon.
Come on, let's go dance.
Clio Balan.
-I am familiar with the name.
-Oh, yeah?
You're awfully formal.
-Not necessarily.
-No.
It's classy, you know,
but it's not useful.
So?
If someone had told me ten years ago
I'd be here,
I would have cried tears of blood.
And I can't get this stupid smile
off my face.
You shouldn't,
there is no reason to smile.
Really.
Where are we? What is this?
A publishing house or a night club?
What role are we playing in all this?
It's true that it's a bit much.
Yeah. Don't let them fool you.
Yeah.
I liked your book a lot.
I liked your books a lot, too.
Beware of them.
Them, who?
Them, those guys, other people.
They'll definitely
like us better dead.
People always prefer writers dead.
Alright.
-Get back to work.
-Yeah.
Enjoy it.
See you.
NEW POST: "@KARIMD YOU DISGUST ME.
YOU'RE ACTUALLY NOT HUMAN IT'S WILD."
LUCAS: DUDE, I HOPE THIS IS A JOKE...
KARIM D = ARTHUR RAMBO!
READ HIS VILE POSTS.
HASHTAG ANTISEMITISM,
HASHTAG HOMOPHOBIA, HASHTAG RACISM
I DON'T GET IT ANMORE:
DO JEWS OR FAGS RUN THE WORLD?
72 VIRGINS FOR THE KOUACHI BROTHERS.
GIRLS, YOU DOWN?
TOWELHEADS PISS ME OFF
OVERCROWDED PROJECTS:
NOTHING LIKE A GOOD VIRUS
JEWS = $$$$ = SHIGAYPRIDE, MORE AIDS FEWER FAGS
WOMEN, MEN'S EQUALS???
ISRAEL-PALESTINE: 12 - 2 DEAD.
WHAT'S THE REFEREE DOING?
KARIM,
CAN YOU LAUGH ABOUT EVERYTHING?
THE JIHADISTS ARE SPEAKING
THROUGH @KARIM D.
KARIMD KILL YOURSELF PLEASE
KARIM, PIECE OF SHIDIE OF HATE KARIM
CANCEL KARIM
NEVER SPEAK IN MY NAME AGAIN
@KARIM D. WHEN THE PROJECTS
SPEAK UP, IT'S SCARY
-You seen Rachid?
-No, I haven't seen him.
No, they aren't just tweets.
They're being relayed all over
with what's going on.
Come on, aren't you overdoing it?
No, they're not going to let up.
I don't get it.
Those posts have been
in my history forever.
Do you realize what you wrote?
What do you mean?
The posts that are coming out
are vile.
Vile?
You found them funny!
You followed me.
That's not the point.
I don't go on social media much,
and I didn't read the ones
coming out.
Excuse me?
You can't be serious.
-I told you to delete everything.
-So, you'd read them?
That's not the point.
I didn't write those messages,
did I?
No, but you retweeted them
and told people to follow me.
Alright, I get it.
Take a seat, Karim.
I AM BIN LADEN
HASHTAG ATTACKS, HASHTAG CARICATURES
I don't understand.
Is Karim D. your name or not?
Yes, but those posts
come from a time
when I was using a pseudonym,
Arthur Rambo.
It was humor.
My generation can decipher
this just fine,
it's not an issue.
Your generation?
You are utterly confused, Karim.
You're denouncing what you practice.
At best, it's inappropriate,
at worst, it's stupidity.
I have over 200,000 followers
and no one has ever said anything.
The real question
is what you think about it.
I don't think anything,
but I run a publishing house,
and you've just torpedoed our sales.
OK, so we've just been talking
about dough this whole time?
Excuse me?
I find you very unfair, Karim,
and very disrespectful.
Sorry, that's not what I meant.
GAYPRIDE = ZOO'S OUHASHTAG WETHEMEN,
HASHTAG AIDS, HASHTAG TRAFFICJAM
SALE AT HYPERCASHER, IT'S BLOWING UP!
Alright.
I think we're all very on edge.
VEIL LAW: BURQAS ARE STILL
TOO FORM-FITTING FOR SOME WOMEN
HASHTAG BURNTHEUGLIES,
HASHTAG EQUALITY, HASHTAG FASHIONWEEK
Loc,
do you think the publishing house
can be charged in this affair?
There is no affair.
No, the publishing house
risks nothing.
It's not related
to the publication of this book,
in which nothing
of that sort appears.
And no one knew about it,
of course.
What about Karim?
I'm more reserved about that.
There will be complaints,
but I can't imagine
any serious penalties,
I don't think.
But regardless of penalties
or trials,
we have to manage the effects.
That is exactly
what I wanted to get at.
No matter what you think of it,
one thing is certain:
it'll cause a stir.
They'll want to hear Karim.
No, Nicolas.
I don't work that way,
you know that.
We published a book
that raises the issue
of immigration in France,
and that firmly, violently
places the political responsibility
on those in charge,
and now its author behaves
like the worst extremist.
Yes, people will talk
about Karim, of course,
but let's not kid ourselves,
no one will talk about the book now.
What do we have in place,
currently, Gilles?
30,000 copies on shelves,
15 more coming post-TV show,
a reprint on hold.
Do you realize the loss?
Yes, I got that.
I hope so.
Karim made an insane character
who comments on the world
in the worst way and place.
Aside from the fact that he isn't
the only one doing so currently,
Karim remains a young author
who is brimming with talent.
Provocation is in the zeitgeist.
France Info wants Karim
on its morning show.
It's starting.
We have to seize this
as an opportunity,
and send Karim all over
with a super-solid angle.
Of course.
I'll go on that morning show,
there is no reason to hide.
I can explain it.
I know what I can say.
I wrote two books,
it's not some silly posts
online that are going
to cast doubt on all that.
All of this was just a literary,
artistic experiment.
That's the message to send.
And it's kind of like the youth
is expressing itself through me.
Is that what your image
of the youth is?
Since when does art
have to be nice and polite?
I'm ready to defend that.
And there is reason to be happy.
My posts are finally
achieving their aim.
Arthur Rambo died tonight.
"Arthur Rambo died tonight.
"It was time.
"He'd been waiting to
for a long time."
Hashtag karimD,
hashtag crazynight.
Alright, well...
Objectively speaking,
it will create a lot
of media attention around Karim.
This isn't what we wanted,
but I can work with it.
We can also talk
about freedom of speech.
Do you still need me, Louise?
We should still question
the content of these posts.
Still promoting it
amounts to saying
we support such horrors.
We mustn't kid ourselves,
the bookstores may not
follow suit.
OK.
We'll put the reprint
on hold for now.
OK,
so we're stopping everything, now?
Long enough to see
how people react.
-I've written something.
-Go ahead.
Blossire Editions
has been made aware
of the hateful messages
written by Karim D.
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo.
In spite of our attachment
to Karim D.'s published work,
we fully break away from
these shocking messages,
which we firmly condemn.
We have no choice.
We have to be able to react
if it gains traction.
I can write one for you.
That's fine,
I think I can defend myself.
Rachid, where are you? I just left
a meeting, we need to talk.
Call me back, please.
Karim!
Want me to drop you off?
No, thanks,
I need to walk a bit.
-You sure?
-Yeah.
Here, I'll leave you my card.
Call me if you need.
Thanks.
Don't give anything up,
they're just loudmouths.
KARIMD: FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN
BETRAYED BY A FRIEND
SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS,
LOOK WHAT YOU'VE CREATED
KARIM, GO AWAY ASAP
YOUR WHOLE FAMILY DESERVES
TO BE DECAPITATED, YOU SICKO!
KARIM D. UNMASKED:
ISLAMO-LEFTISM SHOWS ITS TRUE FACE
Hi Nicolas, I'm just calling
to find out if they said
something when I left. You think
something's going to happen?
Call me back, please.
Yeah, Rachid.
I left the party.
Where are you?
I'm heading to Aya's. Join me there.
What's going on is crazy.
Call me back.
THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING,
MY DEAR KARIM.
LET'S LET THIS STORM BLOW OVER
AND TALK ABOUT THE FILM
AGAIN ONCE IT'S ALL CALMED DOWN.
SO, A FEW MINUTES WERE ENOUGH TO
MAKE ME SOMEONE NOT TO ASSOCIATE WITH
RENEWABLE ENERGY: BURN SOME FAGS
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED: MAKING FUN
OF THE PROPHET IS HARMFUL TO HEALTH
HEY DUDES, JUST HIT ON FAT GIRLS,
AT LEAST THEY WON'T PRESS CHARGES
Come here. What's going on?
I don't know.
They've gone crazy.
-Hey.
-Hey.
Well, we ended up deciding
to go to Thomas's party.
I thought we were staying here.
-Don't you have work?
-No.
Well, yeah,
but I want to dance.
Is Rachid not here?
He went by in a whirlwind.
But maybe we'll see him there.
Come on.
Let's pop this bottle.
I don't think I'll come.
I'm tired.
Come on, it'll make you feel better.
-Am I allowed a glass?
-Of course.
Thanks, Driss.
Come on.
Thanks.
-Karim, do you know Yann?
-No.
He wrote
The Chinese without Troubles.
The comic book?
I skimmed it, I want to read it.
You'll like it. It's nice
and wild, like it should be.
Aya, come here, please.
Have journalists reached out
to you already?
Of course.
I imagine they're worked up like mad.
-You have no idea.
-And? Are you going to talk?
-France Info, morning show.
-No, don't do that.
Why not?
I don't know,
you should let things die down.
Fuck, this is an assassination,
seriously.
I keep posting stuff,
I keep defending you.
That must take a fair amount
of imagination.
-To?
-To defend you.
Sorry, I don't mean to be aggressive,
but it's hard for me to just sit here
and say nothing.
-That's not my style.
-Well, that's great.
This is a great time.
Tell us what you think,
we're listening.
It's quite simple,
I just find your posts
completely intolerable.
You don't see the meta-irony?
He's not the only one
who doesn't see it.
Have you seen
all the fascist tweets?
It's not just fascists
who don't get it.
That's not what I meant.
I don't agree either.
Come on, Karim.
People on social media
don't know you.
We know what you think,
but what are others supposed to do?
I don't know. For one thing,
Arthur Rambo is a ridiculous name.
There are my two books,
my political commitment, my Web TV.
Does that not matter
because of some tweets?
I mean, what, do you hand out
a user manual with all that?
Stop it, damnit!
Isn't it a bit egotistical
to think everyone knows you,
and that you're so pure
that no one
could get you wrong?
You were all aware of those posts.
That's not the issue.
Yes, that is the issue.
You're washing your hands of it.
Mind you, it's not stopping me
from defending you, after all.
-After all?
-Yes, after all, Karim.
All your posts about Charlie Hebdo,
about terrorists,
about Jews, about fags,
that's rough, admit it.
Yeah, that's rough.
It's real rough.
You know,
I don't even know what to say.
Some of those posts,
we wrote together.
They're lynching me,
and you're watching me die
without doing a thing.
You can't defend the indefensible.
Cut it out, Yann.
Are you serious, right now?
What is this, a court room?
He hasn't been accused yet.
This story's not over.
It's likely someone
will press charges.
That'd work out for you.
You'd rather I be
back in the projects.
Where I belong.
Stop it, you're ridiculous.
I know full well
you live three stops away from me,
so your "projects"...
Those three stops count.
Don't you see what's happening,
damnit?
How can you be so nave?
Stop it, what is this talk?
Like, if we just listen,
in a minute we'll be the fascists
and you'll be
the new modern thinker, is that it?
You want me to read you
the stuff you wrote?
I mean, these words,
they mean something,
They have meaning, content.
Yes, they have content,
and it was meant to be
as revolting as possible.
Arthur Rambo is a punk.
And all I share with him
is his anger.
I do stand by that.
How do you not see through
what's happening?
Just look at who
is retweeting the posts.
"You'll wind up in the slammer,
motherfucker, just kill yourself.
"hashtag AssholeParisians,
DeathToArabs,
"Guillotine, DeathPenalty."
"Social justice warriors,
admire your creation.
"hashtag Libration,
LeMonde, Mediapart."
"We're going to force-feed
your mother pork.
"hashtag CloseTheBorders."
Is that not enough for you?
It's probably a trap,
but I don't want to choose
between fascists on the one hand
and absurdly supporting
your demented violence on the other.
And my bourgeois comfort
has nothing to do with that.
OK. Thanks.
-Karim, come on.
-It's fine.
I'll wait for you outside.
Come on.
Rachid, what the hell are you doing?
I keep calling you. Why no answer?
Don't come near me right now, OK?
Wait, what are you doing right now?
What do you want me to do?
You're not serious?
I am, damnit...
You fucked up so bad, man.
What is it?
You worried about your show?
-Didn't I tell you?
-No.
Didn't I tell you to cut the crap?
-Alright, I get it.
-Need help, Rachid?
No, that's OK, I'm fine.
Hang on. Come here.
Am I persona non grata?
You avoiding me?
I don't want us to be seen together.
You understand that?
I don't want to end up
in the same boat as you.
Best not to make waves, huh?
That's right, Karim,
you have to behave.
Don't you see how fragile we are?
Come on, quit it with the paranoia.
No, you stop being nave.
Now is not the time.
Did you delete your own tweets?
Don't get stuff mixed up.
That wasn't the same vibe at all.
Want to cry reading Karim D's posts.
Feel disillusioned.
You're dead, Karim.
Arthur Rambo made you laugh?
You absolute dumbasses.
The nasty beast isn't dead.
Karim D.'s posts prove it.
Too bad, your book was beautiful.
But this, no.
How many followers
for these horrors?
Dumb, mean humor
can't stand mediocrity.
Don't give up, Karim,
I'm with you.
If this isn't hatemongering...
Go back to Algeria,
that's all you deserve.
Youthful mistake?
Who's going to believe that?
The Great Replacement
is happening.
Did it go well?
Yeah.
...from 16 to 21. 21 this afternoon
in Ajaccio, it's like spring.
It's a nice day here on France Info.
It's 7:30 a.m.
"Jews need to be cooked medium rare"
and "Caucasians
of all kinds, hang yourselves."
These gentle words
were posted by Arthur Rambo,
aka Karim D.,
a well-known writer and blogger
who, through his two books
and Web TV
had offered a new perspective
on the projects.
Hundreds of tweets like this
were uncovered last night.
Karim-Arthur comes across as
antisemitic, racist, and homophobic.
We had invited him
to talk about his book
a few weeks back.
So we suggested he come back
this morning
to explain himself,
and he'd accepted.
We are still waiting.
Courage does not seem to be part
of his internal arsenal.
Judge for yourself.
To try and understand it,
we asked psychoanalystSonia Boukra
to decipher this somber business.
Karim, this is crazy,
what's going on.
Please,
tell me you didn't write this.
I'm totally lost,
you have to explain this to me.
I was just being provocative.
It's a character.
Stop hiding.
I don't have to explain myself
to you, La.
You know me.
You know I don't think that.
I don't know.
I don't know if I know you.
Why did you write these things?
What is all this shit
you have in your head
and that you never talk about?
How can that just all coexist
in one and the same brain?
Damnit,
when I read your book, I cried.
That's what counts.
If you don't read the tweets,
they don't exist.
You aren't even on Twitter.
Why did you never tell me about them?
You're running away, really.
You're always running.
I'm not running.
Look, I'm right here.
I came to talk to you.
No, you're not here.
You're never really here.
Easy for you to say.
I don't want to share you anymore.
I want you to leave Guillaume
and for us to be together for real.
Stop it. We're not talking
about that. Don't mix things up.
I need you, right now.
I'm alone.
It hurts, for fuck's sake.
Anyone here?
Mo? You there?
What are you doing here?
What?
Get the hell out of here, please.
What's gotten into you?
You really don't know?
Your fucking tweets,
we just got a face full of them,
too.
Oh, come on, Mo, not you.
What do you mean, not me?
What am I supposed to do?
Tell me, Karim.
I don't know.
Do you see the image
you're projecting of us?
We can't spend our lives
trying to change how
people think about us
and then write stuff like that
at the same time.
All this is over, you hear?
Our 200,000 subscribers, over.
Nights spent working on topics
and laughing, over.
You've spoiled everything.
Karim, don't you understand?
You're toast,
and so are we.
You don't need me
to run things around here.
You run things here, now, don't you?
Clearly, yeah,
but people don't watch our videos
for my stupid face.
You're the one they like to see,
you know that.
Alright, I get it.
You're all flawless,
and I'm the big bad buy
in this story.
Shut the hell up.
I'm also allowed not to be
the nice, flawless boy.
You can understand
I wanted to send those assholes
who were sucking my dick packing.
Oh, come on.
Don't act like you were
in a bad place.
We hadn't seen you here for months.
Admit it,
you loved having them adore you.
You're jealous, really.
Yeah, I'm jealous,
of course.
Shall we compare our lives?
You had it all,
they gave you everything,
the books, the TV, the radio.
Don't you get how
someone might be a bit jealous?
Jesus Christ.
I must be dreaming!
What the hell are you doing here?
You all are a pain.
If you don't want to see my face,
say so.
-That's not the issue.
-Clearly, it is.
Don't you get it, Karim?
Don't you see
how much you betrayed us?
It was all just about you alone.
Couldn't you have deleted it all?
Seriously, what would it
have cost you to delete it all?
Get out of here.
We got a business to close.
Don't be a drama queen.
You don't get it.
We can do whatever we want,
but we shouldn't lie to ourselves,
who's going to watch us?
We don't have any legitimacy anymore.
We're drowning in your shit.
You've killed us, Karim.
Go home and handle whatever it is,
and we're going to try to survive.
-Hello, Karim.
-Hi.
-You're here?
-You're home already?
Did you sleep?
No, you didn't sleep.
I leave you the room.
I have to go, I'm crazy late.
Who cares about all this.
Don't do your head in over nothing.
They're all assholes.
Did you talk to mom about it?
No. She'll freak out.
Come on, it's fine,
don't pull that face.
-See you later.
-Alright.
FOR MANY YEARS, KARIM D.
WAS PUBLISHING
ABJECT MESSAGES UNDER
THE USERNAME ARTHUR RAMBO.
KARIM D.'S HATEFUL MESSAGES
SOW UNEASE
ACTION UNION GENERATION
FRENCH SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS
GO DOWN WITH THEIR SPEARHEAD
KARIM D.: THE STORY OF A DISASTER.
HOMOPHOBIC, ANTISEMITIC,
AND PRO-TERRORISM POSTS
HAVE RESURFACED.
CAUGHT BETWEEN PROVOCATION
AND INTEGRATION,
KARIM D. EMBODIES
A GENERATION'S CULTURAL SCHISM.
WHO IS KARIM D.?
Nico, be clearer.
What am I at risk of, exactly?
We can't know.
What? Will there be a fine?
A trial? Jail?
Look, Karim, I have no idea.
Louise gave me her lawyer's name.
What does she want to do
about the book?
Here, we...
Nobody wants to risk
continuing to promote it.
What risk are you talking about?
Louise wants to break away so
it doesn't put a stain on the house,
which is understandable.
So, it's whatever works for you.
No, Karim,
this doesn't work out for us.
I did everything to get
this book published.
I love it. I supported it with you.
Don't be unfair.
Louise is stuck in a corner.
Some of her authors
are pressuring her.
So you're taking me
and throwing me out.
Karim, there is logic in all this.
Really?
The logic is that
even if we wanted to carry on
regardless, bookstores would
have to follow suit.
Who is going
to buy your book right now?
Nobody. I'm sorry.
It will wind up subsiding.
The best thing you can do
is call the lawyer.
His name is Claude Mercadier.
Claude Mercadier?
That's the terrorists' lawyer!
Yes, he's a big name.
I'm not a terrorist.
Look, Karim,
don't fret about it too much.
We're thinking of you loads.
I didn't know
you were coming home to eat.
No, I wasn't meant to,
but I'm here
because we need to talk, Karim.
At work this morning, you were all
anyone was talking about.
I didn't know where to go.
-It's nothing, it'll blow over.
-No, it's not nothing.
You have to explain this to me.
What's all this about?
Why did you have to write that?
Let me get dressed
and I'll be right there, OK?
Even your uncle
called from the village.
The professor strikes again.
Don't talk
about your uncle like that.
What does he know about it?
What does he understand?
He's online all the time, too.
He reads every newspaper
from France and Algeria.
He knows about everything, Karim.
He says it wasn't good,
what you wrote.
You wouldn't understand.
You're not familiar with all this.
If you explain it to me,
I can understand.
I promise you tomorrow,
everyone will have forgotten.
What matters is the book.
That is going to stay.
Wait, is this because of the book?
No, everybody likes the book.
You can be proud of it.
Yes, but Karim, your book
is me.
It's my story.
You tell stories
nobody knew about in it.
You put me in the story, Karim.
And now,
when I'm asking you
to explain yourself,
you're acting like I'm an idiot
and like I can't understand.
Hey.
I'll get you some food.
Alrighty then...
Why, what's wrong with you?
What? It's like someone died.
There are worse things in life.
Don't get involved, Farid.
But Mom, they're just tweets.
It's nothing serious.
Well, that's just it,
they're messages everyone reads.
Now everyone is talking ill
of your brother.
So what?
I can't take it anymore.
It's alright, Mom.
We never made any noise.
I never had any problems
with anyone whatsoever,
not in the neighborhood,
not with the neighbors.
My boss gets on my nerves,
I always say:
"Yes, very well, Sir."
I mean, what is this?
Why, Karim?
Why do you always need
to be talked about?
What's the problem, Mom?
Are you ashamed?
Are you ashamed
your son's becoming successful?
For once someone from
these projects is successful,
and you're ashamed?
-Tone it down.
-She's ashamed!
No, I'm not ashamed.
I'm proud of my son.
I'm proud of you both.
But Karim,
I'm not the one
who taught you to think like that.
Don't worry. Trust me.
We don't think like that here.
What is this crazy family?
You don't have to always
sit there and take it like that.
Shut it and eat your pasta.
-Hello?
-It's Frdrique.
Thanks for coming so fast.
Where are you?
Alright, I see you.
It's building C, across from you.
Buzz and I'll let you in.
First of all, I'd like to apologize
to anyone who may have been
shocked by the messages
I posted over the past five years
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo,
which do not reflect
my actual thinking.
This character, which I created
when I was 16, had no limits.
I'm sorry I hurt people.
He was an evil double,
who wasn't me.
Was that good?
Cut. What?
I don't know, the evil double.
Is that not a bit over the top?
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
yes, that might be a bit facile.
Let's do it again.
Rolling.
Framed.
Hang on. Can you cut it?
Maybe it's the apologizing?
What about the apologizing?
If I apologized
what would that mean?
That I thought those things?
But if I don't apologize
people will say I'm a monster.
I don't know.
Unfortunately, I can't help you to...
You have to decide for yourself.
Damnit, what do I do?
Go on.
Rolling. And framed.
First of all
I would like to apologize
to anyone who may have been
shocked by the messages
I posted over the last five years
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo.
This character's provocations
knew no limits,
and I'm sorry I hurt people.
You say these tweets do not reflect
what you think.
Explain that.
No, it was just for fun,
a way to explore limits,
to garner reactions,
to see how people reacted.
I'd insult the fascists
who were applauding me,
and that created a debate
that I found interesting.
Yes, and then it got out of hand.
Maybe I sometimes went too far.
Yes, indeed.
You are particularly being criticized
for your antisemitic tweets.
Those are the ones people
latched onto,
out of tens of thousands.
If you reread Arthur Rambo's tweets,
he was attacking everyone,
midgets, fat people, women.
There are even anti-muslim tweets.
Well, there are fewer of those.
Yes, maybe.
Yes.
Granted, I am realizing
as I say this...
That maybe it came out
more easily
when it was about Jews.
Hang on, cut.
Karim,
do you realize what you just said?
Yes, I know.
It's awful to express it like that,
but it's the truth.
You want me to keep it?
I don't know.
Do whatever you want, it's there.
In that case
it deserves an explanation.
What do you want to explain?
It was a mechanic.
The more hardcore it was
the more followers I got.
And it made everyone laugh, too.
Why did you write all that?
What did it mean to you?
Nothing.
No, nothing.
Maybe that's not quite enough.
More likes, more followers,
people patting you on the shoulder
saying they had a good laugh.
You always had to be more violent,
to take it further.
I think the character demanded it.
What were you looking to do?
I was waiting to be stopped.
I don't know.
I was searching for a limit, I think.
No one ever did anything.
Until now.
Yes, until now.
KARIM D., THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Who were you writing for?
For friends.
It was like a big recess playground.
When I started tweeting,
it was this small circle,
you had to work to get your place.
The goal was to see
who could be most violent,
who could be the funniest.
Was this mode of communication
more of an addiction
or a means of expression, for you?
Do you think when you're 16
and sending amorous tweets
to Rihanna,
you imagine she'll answer?
No, none of that existed, to me.
Those posts
didn't exist in real life.
They were words
you just throw out into the world
and that vanish into space,
that escape us.
They drift far away from us
and just float there.
It feels like
you have a lot of anger.
Were your tweets
a way to express that?
Yes, maybe.
There is anger there,
surely.
I'm not looking
for any sociological excuses,
but I do feel like
my generation always wants
to be in the race.
Twitter is a race like any other.
It allows you to live, to exist.
Tweeting is like breathing:
one tweet, one breath,
one tweet, one breath.
-Evening.
-Evening.
-Is this a bad time?
-No, come in.
I was just writing.
I got messages from journalists.
Are you going to respond?
I don't think I have anything to say.
Are you angry with me?
No, I just have nothing to say,
that's all.
You think nothing about it?
Yes. I think you're learning.
I fucked up so bad, damnit.
Sorry. I'm exhausted.
-Here, take this, drink.
-Thanks.
You should start.
Thanks.
Karim, so it goes, that's life.
Go on, get to work.
-Goodbye.
-Goodbye.
You know him?
You see him around?
-Yeah, he lives right there.
-Yeah?
He's my brother's bud, he comes over.
He's real nice.
You know who he is?
This is Karim's little brother.
Go on, talk.
Really? Are you really
Karim's little brother?
Well, yeah.
What do you think about
what he's doing right now?
Karim's the only one
making things happen for us here.
He makes videos with us.
He does everything with us.
Only he speaks up about us.
And what do you think
about his tweets?
Do you agree?
That's all you care about.
That's not all I care about,
but, for instance,
what he wrote about Jews...
What about Jews?
What about them?
What you doing?
Hey, stop it.
Delete what you filmed.
I didn't make them talk.
They're kids, don't you see that?
Moron.
And you shut the hell up.
Where do you think you are?
You ever use those brains of yours?
And you, I can't believe
you'd be such a dumbass.
What's wrong with you, Karim?
Chill.
You, I'm not kidding.
-I'll break your camera.
-I'm cutting.
Farid!
Leave me alone.
I defend you,
we're all defending you,
and you call me a dumbass
in front of cameras and my friends.
Really?
Because you were saying dumb shit!
Did you hear yourself?
Do you not get it or what?
So you were screwing with us
from the start
when you wrote those tweets.
Go on, say it.
Calm down.
Leave me alone.
You're playing the big brother
too much.
It hurts me to see you
disavow everything you wrote.
What about the 200,000 people
who follow you?
You throwing them out?
I read everything you wrote.
I read it all.
There is a logic to it.
It speaks to us, it makes us think.
When we read or tweets
or watched your videos, too.
We knew why we were pissed.
The truth is,
Arthur Rambo is us, you know?
Farid,
Arthur Rambo doesn't exist, OK?
Come here.
Damnit, Karim, you're a pain.
You're trying to get into my head.
Trying to get me mixed up.
You said Arabs aren't treated
the way French people are.
You said that, I'm not lying.
And Jews!
Do you think they're treated like us,
put in the projects?
Who is us?
Farid, you have it all mixed up.
About Palestine,
when you said
they'll to do the same thing there.
And about Charlie?
You said that.
Don't tell me you didn't.
They went too far with the prophet.
They asked for it.
What prophet are you talking about?
Since when do you defend
the prophet?
We don't get the same respect
French people do,
you can't deny that.
Cops shoot at us like rabbits,
all so we'll stay in our projects,
our filthy ghettos.
Karim,
that's the truth. You said so,
you can't say it's not true.
You want me to pull out the tweets
where you talk about cops?
Stop it, Farid.
Stop what?
You want me to pull out the tweets?
Stop it.
When you were going viral,
you weren't saying it was bullshit.
Now that you're seeing
the little crackers
want to throw you out
of their paradise like a dog,
you're starting to think about it,
to regret it?
You think we bow down, here?
We don't bow down.
In these fucking projects,
nobody bows down.
And you know why?
Because we don't have a choice.
We don't have a choice.
So, what now?
I have to go see my friends
and tell them
that all that was bullshit,
that we shouldn't
believe you anymore?
If I can't even trust my own brother,
tell me,
whose lead am I meant to follow, now?
Mom,
shouldn't you be going to bed?
Come on.
-You should go sleep, too.
-Yeah.
I CAN'T THINK ANYMORE.
I'M LEAVING.
I LOVE YOU.
A LAURENT CANTET FILM
THIS WORK, WHILE BASED ON
A TRUE STORY, IS ONE OF FICTION.
ARTHUR RAMBO'S POSTS WERE MADE UP
FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY
AND REFLECT NO ONE INVOLVED'S VIEWS.
two...
"She is my mother,
this woman with the smooth face,
"dark eyes,
and hair covered.
"She has been walking
my country's streets for 30 years.
"She takes care of her children
and of others' children.
"She is from a generation
of astronauts born on the moon.
"France was chosen for her,
"but France didn't choose her.
"The Republic is not
one indivisible whole.
"My mother is a divide,
and I am what's left over of it."
These, Karim, are your words
that we just listened to,
from your book, Landing.
The first questions that comes up
after reading this is,
and maybe it's a nave question,
but what does your mother
think of this book?
My mother is a very reserved woman
who is not in the habit
of making her feelings known.
Life has taught her not to
overly display herself,
that's what she says.
But yes, I hope she's proud.
Well, of you, surely.
No, not only.
I hope she's proud of herself,
of her journey,
and of having to be able to regain
some power over her story.
You speak well about her journey,
including about this moment,
that return to Algeria,
when her father,
your grandfather, has just died.
Those are your first steps
in that country.
What did you find there?
I would say mobility.
My mother arrived in Bagnolet
very young. I was born there.
Here, in France,
we've remained frozen in place,
both geographically and socially.
When I went over there I discovered
the possibility of mobility.
You weave this personal story in
with a story about France
from the point of view
of immigration.
The projects seen from the inside.
An urgent read.
What you said on TV
really grabbed me.
This is going to grind some
bougie neighborhood teeth.
You're stirring up a hornet's nest.
Bravo, Karim.
Your story is ours.
Thanks for finding the words for it.
Your mom is admirable.
In January
we'd like to have writers do
some cultural chronicles
every week.
Do you think that might interest you?
Totally. I've just got to check
my schedule, because right now,
things are a bit busy,
but why not?
Of course.
We'll discuss it another time, then?
-I'd love to.
-Racism exists.
Quick selfie?
Thanks for reminding us.
Our apartheid society is headed
for ruin. Landing proves that.
Your anger is lucid,
and you describe it so well.
Great show.
Karim D. was a great success
on "France" Television.
-Hashtag KarimD, hashtag Capstv.
-Add hashtag proud.
We need books like Landing.
A mother-son story
of rare intensity.
Landing: 223 pages of pure joy.
Thanks you for Landing
and for CapsTV.
It's so relevant.
A state of affairs
for French immigration.
More powerful than any essay.
Landing makes us grasp
the wrongdoings of colonization.
You're speaking for us, Karim.
Thank you.
THERE IS A CERTAIN POETRY
TO THE SOUND OF KALASHNIKOVS
HASHTAG PARISATTACKS, HASHTAG ISIS
My little Karim.
I feel like it lasted for ages.
I couldn't take it anymore.
Very lively, very relevant.
-Really?
-Yeah.
-Here.
-Thanks.
This is magical.
Wait.
Zineb:
"I read Karim D's beautiful book,
"and all I can dream of
"is to be given it again."
Love her.
Did you see that the hashtag
"Karim Landing" made it to the top 5?
Yes, I saw.
We were wondering, are you thinking
of doing something for the book
on your channel?
It's a different audience,
but that could be a good thing,
right?
-I don't know.
-Yes.
Bringing the book
to a younger audience,
now that's of interest.
Yeah, but self-promoting
on a channel
we created to give a voice to
the voiceless isn't very classy.
True.
You're right, it's a bad idea.
Alright, we have to go.
I got you a car.
-Hurry up, OK?
-Yeah.
Don't show up with 12 people.
Come, if you're worried.
No, I have to make
your fan club wait.
It's a black Mercedes.
That driver's name is Thierry.
-Five minutes.
-Got it.
-Hurry, OK? This is important.
-Yes. Thanks. See you soon.
Karim, we saw you on TV.
You're killing it.
Keep it up.
We love you, Karim.
We're proud of you.
You're our pride.
My brother, everyone respects him.
Baseball hat and Timbs.
Fans all the way to China
Journalists want Karim yeah
They want to meet the boy
Grandson of a builder, oi
Listen to your summons mate
France is biting the bait
-Who is it?
-Karim!
-Who's that?
-Karim!
Evening.
-You just did that show, right?
-Yeah.
Prface, Eva Louise's show.
Oh, so you wrote a book, then?
Yeah, it came out
a few weeks ago.
I have to admit
I don't read that much.
I have a Web TV, too.
Are there any videos
I might have seen?
Maybe the one
with the ministry of the interior,
it made the rounds.
Where he loses it over immigrants,
and the guy insults the journalist?
Well, the journalist was me.
No way!
Did you see the song they wrote?
Yeah.
"Shut up, you're talking
to a minister.
"Be quiet, you're talking
to a Minister of the Republic."
CAN'T PARTY TONIGHT.
SEEING MY PHD AVISOR TOMORROW.
LOVE U.
Sorry, I have to make
a quick phone call.
Yeah, it's me.
You did really well,
you were really calm and clear.
You're good,
I'm proud to know you.
Yeah, I get it.
Sorry about tonight
but I'm not going out.
Come on, come, please.
I need you to be there.
You'll be in high demand,
I don't want to spend the evening
bored by myself in a corner.
Don't be silly.
Please, I'd like you to be there.
To see you strut around
like a proud peacock?
Do I usually act
like a proud peacock?
No, seriously, I have too much work.
I can't.
That's alright, I understand.
-You going to come by after?
-Yes.
-I love you.
-I love you, too.
See you later.
You know I have like 50 buds
who subscribe to your videos?
Really?
You know,
I don't really have much time,
but you can write
about my life, if you want.
I'm an Uber driver by night,
but in the day,
I'm starting a company.
-Oh yeah, what are you making?
-Dough, bro!
-How's it going?
-Hey, how are you?
-Good, you?
-Yeah, I'm good.
-Hey, how are you?
-How's it going? See you later.
Congratulations.
They wanted great replacement theory,
they sure got it.
-You were awesome.
-Great job.
Easy now, you'll wreck him.
-You were great.
-Shall we have a drink?
-Handsome guy.
-You were really good.
-So?
-I'm tired.
It was tense.
No, don't worry,
it was a great show.
-Want a drink, then, or...?
-Come on.
No, we have to go, or...
Come on, that's why everyone's here.
Alright, just one, and then we'll go.
-Cheers to you.
-But come!
Don't count on me,
I have to work,
got a fashion show in three days.
And it'll be all about you.
-It'll piss me off.
-Come on.
-Jealous!
-Here, Sam.
Quit hanging with her.
-You got it?
-We're going to be late.
-Join us after?
-Maybe.
-Alright, guys, we're going.
-Ciao.
HOW ABOUT A HOLIDAY IN AUSCHWITZ?
THERE'S STILL ROOM ON THE TRAINS.
HASHTAG JEWSOFFRANCE
HASHTAG PRESIDENT OF FRANCE,
HASHTAG SECULARISM
There he is.
Come.
Is it all going well, are you happy?
-Yes, great.
-Good.
Well, congratulations,
the show was very good.
Delighted you enjoyed it.
-Let me introduce you.
-Congrats.
-Thanks.
-Bravo.
This is Claude, you remember?
-We know each other.
-A pleasure.
-Thank you for your novel.
-I'm touched.
Is it alright
if we take a selfie?
-I'd be happy to.
-Thanks.
Thanks a lot and congratulations,
really.
-Thanks.
-Karim, I'm off.
See you later.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
-Thank you.
-Who's it for?
-Marie-Pierre.
Marie-Pierre.
-Thanks.
-Thanks.
He's not alone,
there are a lot of things
coming out.
Sure,
but Karim stands out,
no doubt about it.
I agree with you,
but the competition is steep.
Fine, there is interesting stuff,
but with Karim,
it's autofiction,
but it shirks any kind of narcissism.
And that moves me,
and it'll move other people.
-Thanks, master.
-Go ahead, laugh in my face.
-See you later.
-Yup.
See you in a second.
Hey.
How are you?
Great, you?
Great.
-Hey, Gilles.
-Karim, how's it going?
-Good, you?
-Congratulations on the show.
Thanks.
I hope you don't have holiday plans,
the tour's going to be brutal.
You still OK to do the book signings?
We're hitting the big ones.
Mollat in Bordeaux...
Marie will email you.
And she has to check with Servane,
there are more requests.
We're doing another print run,
15,000 copies.
And we have loads of foreign demand.
England, Germany, Italy, for now.
You're changing status right now,
you realize that?
No.
It'll be fine, don't worry.
CAN WE SCREW
THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR
UP THE ASS WITH A POLICE BATON?
HASHTAG TOEACHTHEIRTURN,
HASHTAG POLICEVIOLENCE
They're right there. I'll show you.
I'm bringing him over.
-Evening.
-Evening.
-You know Tania Delcour?
-Of course.
I'm a bit awestruck
to be meeting you.
-Come on, don't overdo it.
-I'll try.
You're the one who's these people's
messiah tonight.
You deserve it.
Your book is very powerful.
Thanks.
Tania wants to buy the rights.
-Really?
-Yes.
You don't come across
that every day.
Your book devastated me.
The writing is cutting,
it's spot-on.
I'm not really sure what to say.
If you want, I'd be delighted
for you to have the rights.
To be totally honest,
I have a proposal for you.
You wouldn't want
to direct this movie, would you?
Well, I'm not a director, so...
Well, you didn't say no, did you?
Huh?
I don't make such proposals
to just anyone.
It's just intuition here.
No one is in
a better position than you
to adapt this book.
I don't know.
Honestly, you've sort of
caught me off-guard.
I'm not sure I'd want to adapt
my own book,
or look for an actress
to play my mother.
-I don't know.
-I can understand that.
Something to think about, maybe.
Yes, I don't know,
let's have lunch and talk it over.
I'd be happy to.
-I've sent you his contact info.
-Perfect.
Got it. Let's do it fairly soon.
Shall we meet up this week?
-Totally.
-With Nicolas, if you want...
-We can have a three-way lunch.
-Yes.
Evening.
-How are you doing?
-I'm good, thanks, and you?
If you'll forgive me,
I'm going to borrow him for a second.
Certainly.
-See you soon.
-Bye.
Company parties
aren't really my thing.
Know what she offered?
-What?
-To direct the movie of my book.
Oh, that's good.
-How you doing?
-Great.
Let's mark the occasion.
I haven't forgotten.
I hope not.
There.
Put a filter on at least.
Landing,
in theaters soon.
Come on, let's go dance.
Clio Balan.
-I am familiar with the name.
-Oh, yeah?
You're awfully formal.
-Not necessarily.
-No.
It's classy, you know,
but it's not useful.
So?
If someone had told me ten years ago
I'd be here,
I would have cried tears of blood.
And I can't get this stupid smile
off my face.
You shouldn't,
there is no reason to smile.
Really.
Where are we? What is this?
A publishing house or a night club?
What role are we playing in all this?
It's true that it's a bit much.
Yeah. Don't let them fool you.
Yeah.
I liked your book a lot.
I liked your books a lot, too.
Beware of them.
Them, who?
Them, those guys, other people.
They'll definitely
like us better dead.
People always prefer writers dead.
Alright.
-Get back to work.
-Yeah.
Enjoy it.
See you.
NEW POST: "@KARIMD YOU DISGUST ME.
YOU'RE ACTUALLY NOT HUMAN IT'S WILD."
LUCAS: DUDE, I HOPE THIS IS A JOKE...
KARIM D = ARTHUR RAMBO!
READ HIS VILE POSTS.
HASHTAG ANTISEMITISM,
HASHTAG HOMOPHOBIA, HASHTAG RACISM
I DON'T GET IT ANMORE:
DO JEWS OR FAGS RUN THE WORLD?
72 VIRGINS FOR THE KOUACHI BROTHERS.
GIRLS, YOU DOWN?
TOWELHEADS PISS ME OFF
OVERCROWDED PROJECTS:
NOTHING LIKE A GOOD VIRUS
JEWS = $$$$ = SHIGAYPRIDE, MORE AIDS FEWER FAGS
WOMEN, MEN'S EQUALS???
ISRAEL-PALESTINE: 12 - 2 DEAD.
WHAT'S THE REFEREE DOING?
KARIM,
CAN YOU LAUGH ABOUT EVERYTHING?
THE JIHADISTS ARE SPEAKING
THROUGH @KARIM D.
KARIMD KILL YOURSELF PLEASE
KARIM, PIECE OF SHIDIE OF HATE KARIM
CANCEL KARIM
NEVER SPEAK IN MY NAME AGAIN
@KARIM D. WHEN THE PROJECTS
SPEAK UP, IT'S SCARY
-You seen Rachid?
-No, I haven't seen him.
No, they aren't just tweets.
They're being relayed all over
with what's going on.
Come on, aren't you overdoing it?
No, they're not going to let up.
I don't get it.
Those posts have been
in my history forever.
Do you realize what you wrote?
What do you mean?
The posts that are coming out
are vile.
Vile?
You found them funny!
You followed me.
That's not the point.
I don't go on social media much,
and I didn't read the ones
coming out.
Excuse me?
You can't be serious.
-I told you to delete everything.
-So, you'd read them?
That's not the point.
I didn't write those messages,
did I?
No, but you retweeted them
and told people to follow me.
Alright, I get it.
Take a seat, Karim.
I AM BIN LADEN
HASHTAG ATTACKS, HASHTAG CARICATURES
I don't understand.
Is Karim D. your name or not?
Yes, but those posts
come from a time
when I was using a pseudonym,
Arthur Rambo.
It was humor.
My generation can decipher
this just fine,
it's not an issue.
Your generation?
You are utterly confused, Karim.
You're denouncing what you practice.
At best, it's inappropriate,
at worst, it's stupidity.
I have over 200,000 followers
and no one has ever said anything.
The real question
is what you think about it.
I don't think anything,
but I run a publishing house,
and you've just torpedoed our sales.
OK, so we've just been talking
about dough this whole time?
Excuse me?
I find you very unfair, Karim,
and very disrespectful.
Sorry, that's not what I meant.
GAYPRIDE = ZOO'S OUHASHTAG WETHEMEN,
HASHTAG AIDS, HASHTAG TRAFFICJAM
SALE AT HYPERCASHER, IT'S BLOWING UP!
Alright.
I think we're all very on edge.
VEIL LAW: BURQAS ARE STILL
TOO FORM-FITTING FOR SOME WOMEN
HASHTAG BURNTHEUGLIES,
HASHTAG EQUALITY, HASHTAG FASHIONWEEK
Loc,
do you think the publishing house
can be charged in this affair?
There is no affair.
No, the publishing house
risks nothing.
It's not related
to the publication of this book,
in which nothing
of that sort appears.
And no one knew about it,
of course.
What about Karim?
I'm more reserved about that.
There will be complaints,
but I can't imagine
any serious penalties,
I don't think.
But regardless of penalties
or trials,
we have to manage the effects.
That is exactly
what I wanted to get at.
No matter what you think of it,
one thing is certain:
it'll cause a stir.
They'll want to hear Karim.
No, Nicolas.
I don't work that way,
you know that.
We published a book
that raises the issue
of immigration in France,
and that firmly, violently
places the political responsibility
on those in charge,
and now its author behaves
like the worst extremist.
Yes, people will talk
about Karim, of course,
but let's not kid ourselves,
no one will talk about the book now.
What do we have in place,
currently, Gilles?
30,000 copies on shelves,
15 more coming post-TV show,
a reprint on hold.
Do you realize the loss?
Yes, I got that.
I hope so.
Karim made an insane character
who comments on the world
in the worst way and place.
Aside from the fact that he isn't
the only one doing so currently,
Karim remains a young author
who is brimming with talent.
Provocation is in the zeitgeist.
France Info wants Karim
on its morning show.
It's starting.
We have to seize this
as an opportunity,
and send Karim all over
with a super-solid angle.
Of course.
I'll go on that morning show,
there is no reason to hide.
I can explain it.
I know what I can say.
I wrote two books,
it's not some silly posts
online that are going
to cast doubt on all that.
All of this was just a literary,
artistic experiment.
That's the message to send.
And it's kind of like the youth
is expressing itself through me.
Is that what your image
of the youth is?
Since when does art
have to be nice and polite?
I'm ready to defend that.
And there is reason to be happy.
My posts are finally
achieving their aim.
Arthur Rambo died tonight.
"Arthur Rambo died tonight.
"It was time.
"He'd been waiting to
for a long time."
Hashtag karimD,
hashtag crazynight.
Alright, well...
Objectively speaking,
it will create a lot
of media attention around Karim.
This isn't what we wanted,
but I can work with it.
We can also talk
about freedom of speech.
Do you still need me, Louise?
We should still question
the content of these posts.
Still promoting it
amounts to saying
we support such horrors.
We mustn't kid ourselves,
the bookstores may not
follow suit.
OK.
We'll put the reprint
on hold for now.
OK,
so we're stopping everything, now?
Long enough to see
how people react.
-I've written something.
-Go ahead.
Blossire Editions
has been made aware
of the hateful messages
written by Karim D.
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo.
In spite of our attachment
to Karim D.'s published work,
we fully break away from
these shocking messages,
which we firmly condemn.
We have no choice.
We have to be able to react
if it gains traction.
I can write one for you.
That's fine,
I think I can defend myself.
Rachid, where are you? I just left
a meeting, we need to talk.
Call me back, please.
Karim!
Want me to drop you off?
No, thanks,
I need to walk a bit.
-You sure?
-Yeah.
Here, I'll leave you my card.
Call me if you need.
Thanks.
Don't give anything up,
they're just loudmouths.
KARIMD: FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN
BETRAYED BY A FRIEND
SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS,
LOOK WHAT YOU'VE CREATED
KARIM, GO AWAY ASAP
YOUR WHOLE FAMILY DESERVES
TO BE DECAPITATED, YOU SICKO!
KARIM D. UNMASKED:
ISLAMO-LEFTISM SHOWS ITS TRUE FACE
Hi Nicolas, I'm just calling
to find out if they said
something when I left. You think
something's going to happen?
Call me back, please.
Yeah, Rachid.
I left the party.
Where are you?
I'm heading to Aya's. Join me there.
What's going on is crazy.
Call me back.
THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING,
MY DEAR KARIM.
LET'S LET THIS STORM BLOW OVER
AND TALK ABOUT THE FILM
AGAIN ONCE IT'S ALL CALMED DOWN.
SO, A FEW MINUTES WERE ENOUGH TO
MAKE ME SOMEONE NOT TO ASSOCIATE WITH
RENEWABLE ENERGY: BURN SOME FAGS
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED: MAKING FUN
OF THE PROPHET IS HARMFUL TO HEALTH
HEY DUDES, JUST HIT ON FAT GIRLS,
AT LEAST THEY WON'T PRESS CHARGES
Come here. What's going on?
I don't know.
They've gone crazy.
-Hey.
-Hey.
Well, we ended up deciding
to go to Thomas's party.
I thought we were staying here.
-Don't you have work?
-No.
Well, yeah,
but I want to dance.
Is Rachid not here?
He went by in a whirlwind.
But maybe we'll see him there.
Come on.
Let's pop this bottle.
I don't think I'll come.
I'm tired.
Come on, it'll make you feel better.
-Am I allowed a glass?
-Of course.
Thanks, Driss.
Come on.
Thanks.
-Karim, do you know Yann?
-No.
He wrote
The Chinese without Troubles.
The comic book?
I skimmed it, I want to read it.
You'll like it. It's nice
and wild, like it should be.
Aya, come here, please.
Have journalists reached out
to you already?
Of course.
I imagine they're worked up like mad.
-You have no idea.
-And? Are you going to talk?
-France Info, morning show.
-No, don't do that.
Why not?
I don't know,
you should let things die down.
Fuck, this is an assassination,
seriously.
I keep posting stuff,
I keep defending you.
That must take a fair amount
of imagination.
-To?
-To defend you.
Sorry, I don't mean to be aggressive,
but it's hard for me to just sit here
and say nothing.
-That's not my style.
-Well, that's great.
This is a great time.
Tell us what you think,
we're listening.
It's quite simple,
I just find your posts
completely intolerable.
You don't see the meta-irony?
He's not the only one
who doesn't see it.
Have you seen
all the fascist tweets?
It's not just fascists
who don't get it.
That's not what I meant.
I don't agree either.
Come on, Karim.
People on social media
don't know you.
We know what you think,
but what are others supposed to do?
I don't know. For one thing,
Arthur Rambo is a ridiculous name.
There are my two books,
my political commitment, my Web TV.
Does that not matter
because of some tweets?
I mean, what, do you hand out
a user manual with all that?
Stop it, damnit!
Isn't it a bit egotistical
to think everyone knows you,
and that you're so pure
that no one
could get you wrong?
You were all aware of those posts.
That's not the issue.
Yes, that is the issue.
You're washing your hands of it.
Mind you, it's not stopping me
from defending you, after all.
-After all?
-Yes, after all, Karim.
All your posts about Charlie Hebdo,
about terrorists,
about Jews, about fags,
that's rough, admit it.
Yeah, that's rough.
It's real rough.
You know,
I don't even know what to say.
Some of those posts,
we wrote together.
They're lynching me,
and you're watching me die
without doing a thing.
You can't defend the indefensible.
Cut it out, Yann.
Are you serious, right now?
What is this, a court room?
He hasn't been accused yet.
This story's not over.
It's likely someone
will press charges.
That'd work out for you.
You'd rather I be
back in the projects.
Where I belong.
Stop it, you're ridiculous.
I know full well
you live three stops away from me,
so your "projects"...
Those three stops count.
Don't you see what's happening,
damnit?
How can you be so nave?
Stop it, what is this talk?
Like, if we just listen,
in a minute we'll be the fascists
and you'll be
the new modern thinker, is that it?
You want me to read you
the stuff you wrote?
I mean, these words,
they mean something,
They have meaning, content.
Yes, they have content,
and it was meant to be
as revolting as possible.
Arthur Rambo is a punk.
And all I share with him
is his anger.
I do stand by that.
How do you not see through
what's happening?
Just look at who
is retweeting the posts.
"You'll wind up in the slammer,
motherfucker, just kill yourself.
"hashtag AssholeParisians,
DeathToArabs,
"Guillotine, DeathPenalty."
"Social justice warriors,
admire your creation.
"hashtag Libration,
LeMonde, Mediapart."
"We're going to force-feed
your mother pork.
"hashtag CloseTheBorders."
Is that not enough for you?
It's probably a trap,
but I don't want to choose
between fascists on the one hand
and absurdly supporting
your demented violence on the other.
And my bourgeois comfort
has nothing to do with that.
OK. Thanks.
-Karim, come on.
-It's fine.
I'll wait for you outside.
Come on.
Rachid, what the hell are you doing?
I keep calling you. Why no answer?
Don't come near me right now, OK?
Wait, what are you doing right now?
What do you want me to do?
You're not serious?
I am, damnit...
You fucked up so bad, man.
What is it?
You worried about your show?
-Didn't I tell you?
-No.
Didn't I tell you to cut the crap?
-Alright, I get it.
-Need help, Rachid?
No, that's OK, I'm fine.
Hang on. Come here.
Am I persona non grata?
You avoiding me?
I don't want us to be seen together.
You understand that?
I don't want to end up
in the same boat as you.
Best not to make waves, huh?
That's right, Karim,
you have to behave.
Don't you see how fragile we are?
Come on, quit it with the paranoia.
No, you stop being nave.
Now is not the time.
Did you delete your own tweets?
Don't get stuff mixed up.
That wasn't the same vibe at all.
Want to cry reading Karim D's posts.
Feel disillusioned.
You're dead, Karim.
Arthur Rambo made you laugh?
You absolute dumbasses.
The nasty beast isn't dead.
Karim D.'s posts prove it.
Too bad, your book was beautiful.
But this, no.
How many followers
for these horrors?
Dumb, mean humor
can't stand mediocrity.
Don't give up, Karim,
I'm with you.
If this isn't hatemongering...
Go back to Algeria,
that's all you deserve.
Youthful mistake?
Who's going to believe that?
The Great Replacement
is happening.
Did it go well?
Yeah.
...from 16 to 21. 21 this afternoon
in Ajaccio, it's like spring.
It's a nice day here on France Info.
It's 7:30 a.m.
"Jews need to be cooked medium rare"
and "Caucasians
of all kinds, hang yourselves."
These gentle words
were posted by Arthur Rambo,
aka Karim D.,
a well-known writer and blogger
who, through his two books
and Web TV
had offered a new perspective
on the projects.
Hundreds of tweets like this
were uncovered last night.
Karim-Arthur comes across as
antisemitic, racist, and homophobic.
We had invited him
to talk about his book
a few weeks back.
So we suggested he come back
this morning
to explain himself,
and he'd accepted.
We are still waiting.
Courage does not seem to be part
of his internal arsenal.
Judge for yourself.
To try and understand it,
we asked psychoanalystSonia Boukra
to decipher this somber business.
Karim, this is crazy,
what's going on.
Please,
tell me you didn't write this.
I'm totally lost,
you have to explain this to me.
I was just being provocative.
It's a character.
Stop hiding.
I don't have to explain myself
to you, La.
You know me.
You know I don't think that.
I don't know.
I don't know if I know you.
Why did you write these things?
What is all this shit
you have in your head
and that you never talk about?
How can that just all coexist
in one and the same brain?
Damnit,
when I read your book, I cried.
That's what counts.
If you don't read the tweets,
they don't exist.
You aren't even on Twitter.
Why did you never tell me about them?
You're running away, really.
You're always running.
I'm not running.
Look, I'm right here.
I came to talk to you.
No, you're not here.
You're never really here.
Easy for you to say.
I don't want to share you anymore.
I want you to leave Guillaume
and for us to be together for real.
Stop it. We're not talking
about that. Don't mix things up.
I need you, right now.
I'm alone.
It hurts, for fuck's sake.
Anyone here?
Mo? You there?
What are you doing here?
What?
Get the hell out of here, please.
What's gotten into you?
You really don't know?
Your fucking tweets,
we just got a face full of them,
too.
Oh, come on, Mo, not you.
What do you mean, not me?
What am I supposed to do?
Tell me, Karim.
I don't know.
Do you see the image
you're projecting of us?
We can't spend our lives
trying to change how
people think about us
and then write stuff like that
at the same time.
All this is over, you hear?
Our 200,000 subscribers, over.
Nights spent working on topics
and laughing, over.
You've spoiled everything.
Karim, don't you understand?
You're toast,
and so are we.
You don't need me
to run things around here.
You run things here, now, don't you?
Clearly, yeah,
but people don't watch our videos
for my stupid face.
You're the one they like to see,
you know that.
Alright, I get it.
You're all flawless,
and I'm the big bad buy
in this story.
Shut the hell up.
I'm also allowed not to be
the nice, flawless boy.
You can understand
I wanted to send those assholes
who were sucking my dick packing.
Oh, come on.
Don't act like you were
in a bad place.
We hadn't seen you here for months.
Admit it,
you loved having them adore you.
You're jealous, really.
Yeah, I'm jealous,
of course.
Shall we compare our lives?
You had it all,
they gave you everything,
the books, the TV, the radio.
Don't you get how
someone might be a bit jealous?
Jesus Christ.
I must be dreaming!
What the hell are you doing here?
You all are a pain.
If you don't want to see my face,
say so.
-That's not the issue.
-Clearly, it is.
Don't you get it, Karim?
Don't you see
how much you betrayed us?
It was all just about you alone.
Couldn't you have deleted it all?
Seriously, what would it
have cost you to delete it all?
Get out of here.
We got a business to close.
Don't be a drama queen.
You don't get it.
We can do whatever we want,
but we shouldn't lie to ourselves,
who's going to watch us?
We don't have any legitimacy anymore.
We're drowning in your shit.
You've killed us, Karim.
Go home and handle whatever it is,
and we're going to try to survive.
-Hello, Karim.
-Hi.
-You're here?
-You're home already?
Did you sleep?
No, you didn't sleep.
I leave you the room.
I have to go, I'm crazy late.
Who cares about all this.
Don't do your head in over nothing.
They're all assholes.
Did you talk to mom about it?
No. She'll freak out.
Come on, it's fine,
don't pull that face.
-See you later.
-Alright.
FOR MANY YEARS, KARIM D.
WAS PUBLISHING
ABJECT MESSAGES UNDER
THE USERNAME ARTHUR RAMBO.
KARIM D.'S HATEFUL MESSAGES
SOW UNEASE
ACTION UNION GENERATION
FRENCH SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS
GO DOWN WITH THEIR SPEARHEAD
KARIM D.: THE STORY OF A DISASTER.
HOMOPHOBIC, ANTISEMITIC,
AND PRO-TERRORISM POSTS
HAVE RESURFACED.
CAUGHT BETWEEN PROVOCATION
AND INTEGRATION,
KARIM D. EMBODIES
A GENERATION'S CULTURAL SCHISM.
WHO IS KARIM D.?
Nico, be clearer.
What am I at risk of, exactly?
We can't know.
What? Will there be a fine?
A trial? Jail?
Look, Karim, I have no idea.
Louise gave me her lawyer's name.
What does she want to do
about the book?
Here, we...
Nobody wants to risk
continuing to promote it.
What risk are you talking about?
Louise wants to break away so
it doesn't put a stain on the house,
which is understandable.
So, it's whatever works for you.
No, Karim,
this doesn't work out for us.
I did everything to get
this book published.
I love it. I supported it with you.
Don't be unfair.
Louise is stuck in a corner.
Some of her authors
are pressuring her.
So you're taking me
and throwing me out.
Karim, there is logic in all this.
Really?
The logic is that
even if we wanted to carry on
regardless, bookstores would
have to follow suit.
Who is going
to buy your book right now?
Nobody. I'm sorry.
It will wind up subsiding.
The best thing you can do
is call the lawyer.
His name is Claude Mercadier.
Claude Mercadier?
That's the terrorists' lawyer!
Yes, he's a big name.
I'm not a terrorist.
Look, Karim,
don't fret about it too much.
We're thinking of you loads.
I didn't know
you were coming home to eat.
No, I wasn't meant to,
but I'm here
because we need to talk, Karim.
At work this morning, you were all
anyone was talking about.
I didn't know where to go.
-It's nothing, it'll blow over.
-No, it's not nothing.
You have to explain this to me.
What's all this about?
Why did you have to write that?
Let me get dressed
and I'll be right there, OK?
Even your uncle
called from the village.
The professor strikes again.
Don't talk
about your uncle like that.
What does he know about it?
What does he understand?
He's online all the time, too.
He reads every newspaper
from France and Algeria.
He knows about everything, Karim.
He says it wasn't good,
what you wrote.
You wouldn't understand.
You're not familiar with all this.
If you explain it to me,
I can understand.
I promise you tomorrow,
everyone will have forgotten.
What matters is the book.
That is going to stay.
Wait, is this because of the book?
No, everybody likes the book.
You can be proud of it.
Yes, but Karim, your book
is me.
It's my story.
You tell stories
nobody knew about in it.
You put me in the story, Karim.
And now,
when I'm asking you
to explain yourself,
you're acting like I'm an idiot
and like I can't understand.
Hey.
I'll get you some food.
Alrighty then...
Why, what's wrong with you?
What? It's like someone died.
There are worse things in life.
Don't get involved, Farid.
But Mom, they're just tweets.
It's nothing serious.
Well, that's just it,
they're messages everyone reads.
Now everyone is talking ill
of your brother.
So what?
I can't take it anymore.
It's alright, Mom.
We never made any noise.
I never had any problems
with anyone whatsoever,
not in the neighborhood,
not with the neighbors.
My boss gets on my nerves,
I always say:
"Yes, very well, Sir."
I mean, what is this?
Why, Karim?
Why do you always need
to be talked about?
What's the problem, Mom?
Are you ashamed?
Are you ashamed
your son's becoming successful?
For once someone from
these projects is successful,
and you're ashamed?
-Tone it down.
-She's ashamed!
No, I'm not ashamed.
I'm proud of my son.
I'm proud of you both.
But Karim,
I'm not the one
who taught you to think like that.
Don't worry. Trust me.
We don't think like that here.
What is this crazy family?
You don't have to always
sit there and take it like that.
Shut it and eat your pasta.
-Hello?
-It's Frdrique.
Thanks for coming so fast.
Where are you?
Alright, I see you.
It's building C, across from you.
Buzz and I'll let you in.
First of all, I'd like to apologize
to anyone who may have been
shocked by the messages
I posted over the past five years
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo,
which do not reflect
my actual thinking.
This character, which I created
when I was 16, had no limits.
I'm sorry I hurt people.
He was an evil double,
who wasn't me.
Was that good?
Cut. What?
I don't know, the evil double.
Is that not a bit over the top?
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
yes, that might be a bit facile.
Let's do it again.
Rolling.
Framed.
Hang on. Can you cut it?
Maybe it's the apologizing?
What about the apologizing?
If I apologized
what would that mean?
That I thought those things?
But if I don't apologize
people will say I'm a monster.
I don't know.
Unfortunately, I can't help you to...
You have to decide for yourself.
Damnit, what do I do?
Go on.
Rolling. And framed.
First of all
I would like to apologize
to anyone who may have been
shocked by the messages
I posted over the last five years
under the pseudonym Arthur Rambo.
This character's provocations
knew no limits,
and I'm sorry I hurt people.
You say these tweets do not reflect
what you think.
Explain that.
No, it was just for fun,
a way to explore limits,
to garner reactions,
to see how people reacted.
I'd insult the fascists
who were applauding me,
and that created a debate
that I found interesting.
Yes, and then it got out of hand.
Maybe I sometimes went too far.
Yes, indeed.
You are particularly being criticized
for your antisemitic tweets.
Those are the ones people
latched onto,
out of tens of thousands.
If you reread Arthur Rambo's tweets,
he was attacking everyone,
midgets, fat people, women.
There are even anti-muslim tweets.
Well, there are fewer of those.
Yes, maybe.
Yes.
Granted, I am realizing
as I say this...
That maybe it came out
more easily
when it was about Jews.
Hang on, cut.
Karim,
do you realize what you just said?
Yes, I know.
It's awful to express it like that,
but it's the truth.
You want me to keep it?
I don't know.
Do whatever you want, it's there.
In that case
it deserves an explanation.
What do you want to explain?
It was a mechanic.
The more hardcore it was
the more followers I got.
And it made everyone laugh, too.
Why did you write all that?
What did it mean to you?
Nothing.
No, nothing.
Maybe that's not quite enough.
More likes, more followers,
people patting you on the shoulder
saying they had a good laugh.
You always had to be more violent,
to take it further.
I think the character demanded it.
What were you looking to do?
I was waiting to be stopped.
I don't know.
I was searching for a limit, I think.
No one ever did anything.
Until now.
Yes, until now.
KARIM D., THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Who were you writing for?
For friends.
It was like a big recess playground.
When I started tweeting,
it was this small circle,
you had to work to get your place.
The goal was to see
who could be most violent,
who could be the funniest.
Was this mode of communication
more of an addiction
or a means of expression, for you?
Do you think when you're 16
and sending amorous tweets
to Rihanna,
you imagine she'll answer?
No, none of that existed, to me.
Those posts
didn't exist in real life.
They were words
you just throw out into the world
and that vanish into space,
that escape us.
They drift far away from us
and just float there.
It feels like
you have a lot of anger.
Were your tweets
a way to express that?
Yes, maybe.
There is anger there,
surely.
I'm not looking
for any sociological excuses,
but I do feel like
my generation always wants
to be in the race.
Twitter is a race like any other.
It allows you to live, to exist.
Tweeting is like breathing:
one tweet, one breath,
one tweet, one breath.
-Evening.
-Evening.
-Is this a bad time?
-No, come in.
I was just writing.
I got messages from journalists.
Are you going to respond?
I don't think I have anything to say.
Are you angry with me?
No, I just have nothing to say,
that's all.
You think nothing about it?
Yes. I think you're learning.
I fucked up so bad, damnit.
Sorry. I'm exhausted.
-Here, take this, drink.
-Thanks.
You should start.
Thanks.
Karim, so it goes, that's life.
Go on, get to work.
-Goodbye.
-Goodbye.
You know him?
You see him around?
-Yeah, he lives right there.
-Yeah?
He's my brother's bud, he comes over.
He's real nice.
You know who he is?
This is Karim's little brother.
Go on, talk.
Really? Are you really
Karim's little brother?
Well, yeah.
What do you think about
what he's doing right now?
Karim's the only one
making things happen for us here.
He makes videos with us.
He does everything with us.
Only he speaks up about us.
And what do you think
about his tweets?
Do you agree?
That's all you care about.
That's not all I care about,
but, for instance,
what he wrote about Jews...
What about Jews?
What about them?
What you doing?
Hey, stop it.
Delete what you filmed.
I didn't make them talk.
They're kids, don't you see that?
Moron.
And you shut the hell up.
Where do you think you are?
You ever use those brains of yours?
And you, I can't believe
you'd be such a dumbass.
What's wrong with you, Karim?
Chill.
You, I'm not kidding.
-I'll break your camera.
-I'm cutting.
Farid!
Leave me alone.
I defend you,
we're all defending you,
and you call me a dumbass
in front of cameras and my friends.
Really?
Because you were saying dumb shit!
Did you hear yourself?
Do you not get it or what?
So you were screwing with us
from the start
when you wrote those tweets.
Go on, say it.
Calm down.
Leave me alone.
You're playing the big brother
too much.
It hurts me to see you
disavow everything you wrote.
What about the 200,000 people
who follow you?
You throwing them out?
I read everything you wrote.
I read it all.
There is a logic to it.
It speaks to us, it makes us think.
When we read or tweets
or watched your videos, too.
We knew why we were pissed.
The truth is,
Arthur Rambo is us, you know?
Farid,
Arthur Rambo doesn't exist, OK?
Come here.
Damnit, Karim, you're a pain.
You're trying to get into my head.
Trying to get me mixed up.
You said Arabs aren't treated
the way French people are.
You said that, I'm not lying.
And Jews!
Do you think they're treated like us,
put in the projects?
Who is us?
Farid, you have it all mixed up.
About Palestine,
when you said
they'll to do the same thing there.
And about Charlie?
You said that.
Don't tell me you didn't.
They went too far with the prophet.
They asked for it.
What prophet are you talking about?
Since when do you defend
the prophet?
We don't get the same respect
French people do,
you can't deny that.
Cops shoot at us like rabbits,
all so we'll stay in our projects,
our filthy ghettos.
Karim,
that's the truth. You said so,
you can't say it's not true.
You want me to pull out the tweets
where you talk about cops?
Stop it, Farid.
Stop what?
You want me to pull out the tweets?
Stop it.
When you were going viral,
you weren't saying it was bullshit.
Now that you're seeing
the little crackers
want to throw you out
of their paradise like a dog,
you're starting to think about it,
to regret it?
You think we bow down, here?
We don't bow down.
In these fucking projects,
nobody bows down.
And you know why?
Because we don't have a choice.
We don't have a choice.
So, what now?
I have to go see my friends
and tell them
that all that was bullshit,
that we shouldn't
believe you anymore?
If I can't even trust my own brother,
tell me,
whose lead am I meant to follow, now?
Mom,
shouldn't you be going to bed?
Come on.
-You should go sleep, too.
-Yeah.
I CAN'T THINK ANYMORE.
I'M LEAVING.
I LOVE YOU.
A LAURENT CANTET FILM
THIS WORK, WHILE BASED ON
A TRUE STORY, IS ONE OF FICTION.
ARTHUR RAMBO'S POSTS WERE MADE UP
FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY
AND REFLECT NO ONE INVOLVED'S VIEWS.