The First Man

August 1957. Jacques Cormery, a famous writer in his forties, goes to visit his mother in Alger. The city is in a state of war. Jacques recalls his school days, his European and Algerian friends, and Mr. Bernard, this teacher who encouraged him to seek a life normally inconceivable for a child born into a poor, illiterate family. Faithful to his past, what can he do to reconcile those who, like him, pied-noir and Algerians, have roots in the same soil, but who have been turned into heriditary enemies by the path of history.