In southern France, the ancient and controversial tradition of Camargue bullfighting remains to this day. In contrast to more lethal forms of the sport, participants – or raseteurs – win points by snatching various ribbons attached to the bulls, each of which comes with a cash prize up to thousands of euros. Following a group of athletes of north African descent, Jérémie Battaglia’s documentary paints a captivating portrait of multicultural France.
For Jawad Bakloul and Belkacem Benhammou, the two young men at the centre of the film, the hardships multiply. Because of their ethnic background, the pair encounter a world of contradictions when they step into an arena. Not only do they face mortal danger, they also face racial abuse from the older, largely white spectators, despite upholding a piece of traditional French culture.
Battaglia’s film elegantly juxtaposes nerve-wrecking sequences of Camargue races with Bakloul and Benhammou’s daily lives. After each match, their uniforms of pristine white polo and trousers are stained with dust and blood. One particularly harrowing moment shows Benhammou struck by a bull, resulting in a brutal muscle tear. Even more disturbing is an earlier scene, in which a group of spectators callously complain of boredom when a bull is too docile.
Passionate as the raseteurs are about their task, they appear to be chasing after a mirage of valour for the entertainment of others. At the same time, systemic racism also prevents the men from gaining acceptance elsewhere – though highly educated, some are unable to find stable jobs. Battaglia’s poignant film is more than a tribute to the talents of these extraordinary men: it also lays bare how integration is rarely a two-way process, with the burden of assimilation largely placed on the shoulders of the marginalised.