Jessica Lack
The Guardian Guide
21 April 2001

Shot on 16 mm, this grainy documentary-style piece reveals the life of two men living in Lille who have never met yet share common experiences. One is Denis, a young soldier who talks about life in the Balkans and his training to become an assassin. We never see his face, just his hands as he talks about the difficulties of trying to repatriate into society and the loneliness and guilt he feels. Jacques is also lonely: he is obsessed with tropical fish and speaks about the stress of rearing them. Jacques appears to have made a deliberate attempt to shun society, whereas Denis yearns for a normal lift. This emotive and political film by Albanian artist Anri Sala reveals the lives of the disenfranchised and how society ignores them.