At work Mourad, though he is now observing Ramadan as Dino, tries to appear as normal as possible; however, in a couple of scenes his behavior and attitude come across as strange. The first is when his rival colleague for manager finds him emptying his office water cooler, and the second, is when he shouts at his secretary, Nadia, after she brings him coffee while his boss is watching. Mourad tries as Dino to appear as discreet as possible to avoid any suspicion about his
‘origins.’ Mourad is definitely keeping his promise to his father, but yet he is performing it as Dino, who is in the eyes of his co-workers a Christian. Mourad does not represent ‘goodness’ nor does he represent ‘evil,’ but rather it is his subjectivity as conditioned by the social norms that is reversed. It is mostly through comedy that such an experience can be performed at its best. What L’italien reveals to us is the personality of the character, his subjectivity rather than an ‘ethos.’ It is about sharing an intimate subjective experience of a character rather than ‘spreading’ a universal value.
Mourad’s subjectivity is not enacted in isolation from others, but it is revealed in such a way to transcend the social norms in an attempt to expose its inadequacies. By doing so, Mourad is rediscovering himself. His struggle to find a place for himself in a society that rejects him as
‘Mourad Ben Saoud’ or simply as a Beur is reflective of an existing social reality. Mourad’s choice to become Dino is one of the solutions to achieve his goal and de-stigmatize a derogatory social perception against Beurs and immigrants alike. The film narrative feeds on the character of Dino as a source to create laughter, and as a strategy to dismantle ‘being French.’ The film comedic narrative builds on the unexpected situations that Mourad is thrown into, and for which he has no time to think of how to react as they abruptly happen. The movie shows that an Italian can still be perceived as an ‘inhabitant’ of French society. It explicitly communicates the idea that not all foreigners are created equal. Even though the Italian is also ‘different,’ his difference is more appealing and flows well within the French social context. He has become part of the family in terms of integrating the French society and pursuing his career to its highest summit.
There are many scenes that illustrate this but I will make reference to one, a scene that begins with Mourad’s boss suggesting that they go together to Rome. As there are no direct flights to Rome, they would have to go through Marseille where Mourad generally goes during the weekends. Since he could not reach his mother who always comes to pick him up, he panics as she might see him at Marseille’s airport. He does get to Rome, but as soon as he gets there he waits for his boss to leave, and takes the first flight back to Marseille. Mourad is not yet ready for such a confrontation. He could lose his job, and his mother would not forgive him. It should be noted that Mourad does not repudiate his origins, but at the same time his identity change is neither legal nor ethical. He sees himself as a victim of social injustice, and he reacts against that.
The fact that he does not choose a “true” French name is very significant in the sense that he is
already French. His acceptance of a “true” French name would mean that he accepts
‘assimilation,’ and he recognizes that to be ‘French’ you have to have a “true” French name.
Towards the end of the movie, Cyril, his rival colleague, discovers Mourad’s origins as he finds him praying. Mourad’s reaction, though unconvincing, is significant. After Cyril asks, “J’ai toujours su que tu n’es pas italien, toi,” Mourad ironically replies, “tu n’as jamais vu d’italiens musulmans?!” Mourad’s rhetorical question is not about whether there are Italian Muslims but about the belief that a Muslim in France could not be but from the Maghreb.
Mourad’s subjectivity as Dino allows him to experience intersubjectivity differently.
Being recognized as Dino, ‘L’italien,’ requires from ‘others’ who know him under this name, to treat him differently. Intersubjectvity, thus, is not supposed to be about the recognition of the other as a consciousness but as a subjective experience or as Merleau-Ponty puts it ‘the body subject’ or ‘the body experience.’129 The body subject should not be thought of in the sense of the universal but necessarily as a presence that has differentiating physical characteristics and a legally determined status. To complement his ‘alternate’ identity, Dino Fabrizzi shaved his head, trimmed short his circle beard, got a cross chain and wore clothes that are ‘typically’ Italian for the social status he represents. To make his name and his appearance fuse together, he learns a few Italian expressions that he constantly uses. Thus, at the level of what Ricoeur calls
‘sameness,’ Mourad does not change, he is the same person; but at the level of selfhood his enactment of subjectivity has changed. This change is not for himself, but for how he is perceived by ‘others.’ Mourad’s decision towards the end of the movie to reveal his ‘original’
identity both to his boss and his girlfriend originates in his fasting experience. Before quitting the job in front of his co-workers and his boss, he says to Nadia, “tu as raison Nadia, le Ramadan n’est pas une simple formalité.” Mourad is echoing Nadia’s words when he asks her, “et qu’est
129Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of perception (New York: Routledge, 1958) 231.
ce que vous gagnez ?” She replies, “une conscience reposée dans un corps plus sain” and she adds, “c’est très personnel. Ce n’est pas une formalité pour moi, c’est une quête.” Mourad has to go through the experience to feel what Nadia has told him; it is not about religion per se but about the self. Mourad’s experience of intersubjectivity as Dino allows him to rediscover and recognize himself. The construction of selfhood is quintessentially the result of the interplay between the subjective and the intersubjective.