A satirical critique of state bureaucracy at the start of Algerian independence, The Mill clearly takes aim at the intelligentsia in the contemporary Algerian socialist system as well. (The film was banned for two years after its completion in 1985). In a small town in 1963, M. Fabre, a Frenchman, offers his mill for nationalization as a contribution to the people. He must wait ten years for nationalization to be instituted. As accomplished as it was controversial, "the brilliant director Ahmed Rachedi's The Mill...(is) not to be missed." -Village Voice