In this tale of a village steeped in the rigid traditions of a polygamous culture, Chouikh unveils the harem myth, exposing women's oppression, anger, and frustration-as well as society's fundamental intolerance towards new roles for either sex. The Citadel presents a day in the life of Kaddour, a simple man who cannot get with the program of male privilege; while his adoptive father, the arrogant weaver Sidi, has three wives to mistreat, Kaddour's more harmless lusts only seem to earn him the wrath of the males in the community. "Chouikh avoids polemics and makes even the most unattractive characters, such as the conniving...village shaman, disreputably amusing. It's a Dickensian cast of characters seen with a puckish, prankster's eye, which makes the film's final prank all the more shocking." (Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix)