Jérémie Battaglia’s captivating documentary follows two north African raseteurs battling bulls and systemic racism in southern France
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n 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.
