13 jours, 13 nuits

F Watchlist

When the Taliban seized power again in Afghanistan in 2021 and the Americans hastily withdrew, the French embassy in Kabul was the last bastion of Western powers in the metropolis of 5 million people. After heated internal debates, it opened its doors to around 300 people seeking to flee; for 13 days and nights, it negotiated with the new rulers to allow its protégés to leave the country and be escorted to the besieged airport. The docudrama of the same title is based on the memoirs of French police commander Mohamed Bida, who was responsible for the safety of the people. During the negotiations with the Taliban, he teamed up with a young French woman who had been working for an aid organisation in Afghanistan for a long time and was forced to translate at the risk of her life. Roschdy Zem lends his powerful presence to this strong-willed fighter, while Lyna Khoudri gives the translator some touching scenes about human fragility in the face of inscrutable circumstances and unpredictable opponents. 13 jours, 13 nuits is essentially a classic heroic epic and, as such, certainly a balm for the battered Grande Nation. But which film industry in Europe, if not the French one, can stage such material with such credible scenes of chaos and crowds in such a gripping way? Director Martin Bourboulon has already shown with Eiffel and most recently with the two-part Les trois Mousquetaires that he knows how to serve up a big helping. With this political thriller, he surpasses himself: multifaceted, touching and incredibly exciting, he shows the exceptional situation in which the lives of countless people hang by a thread and one is dependent on the goodwill of people one was fighting against only yesterday. We subtitled the film, which was only released in French speaking Switzerland, ourselves. It was a tough job, but nothing compared to what 13 jours, 13 nuits shows.