What the Day Owes the Night

In 1930s Algeria, a young boy named Younes is sent to live with his uncle in Oran and is rebaptized Jonas, starting a new life among the rough-and-ready youths of the Rio Salado neighborhood. He grows into a charismatic, restless young man shaped by the rhythms of the city and the fierce loyalties of his friends. The film traces his coming-of-age with patient detail, showing how personal identity is forged and reshaped by family, place, and the rites of growing up.

Emilie arrives as the luminous center of the gang’s world, irresistible to every young man around her. What begins as adolescent admiration deepens into a poignant, consuming love between Jonas and Emilie, tender and inevitable yet vulnerable to the pressures that surround them. Their relationship is depicted with warmth and melancholy, a private refuge that nevertheless cannot escape the realities pressing in from outside.

As Algeria moves toward political upheaval, private passions and public conflicts collide. Loyalties are tested, secrets and choices gain consequence, and the once-simple rhythms of life in Oran are disrupted by communal tensions and the forces of history. The story becomes an expansive meditation on identity, belonging, and the price of love in a country on the brink, following its characters across decades as they confront the past and the inescapable effects of history on their lives.