A watershed film, Omar Gatlato held a mirror up to Algerian "macho" culture and the mirror cracked. The title refers to the expression "gatlato al-rujula," or "machismo killed him," and the film's mordant insights into male posturing and alienation in Algerian society animate this bit of folk wisdom. In mock documentary style, a young man recounts a typical day in his life, with wry comments on all, including himself, while the camera playfully shows a different story. In following Omar and his friends in their pursuit of happiness, the film examines with shrewd humor the lives of male urban youth-their passion for popular culture (soccer, "Hindoo" movies, rai concerts), their hidden fear of women, and their social insecurity in an environment where they are marginalized. In what is still a well loved film for its clear-sighted vision of the problems in post-liberation Algeria, "the war of independence is spoken of as a memory, but in fact the revolution is still raging...(Omar's) deadpan narration belies the uncertainty and anger of his generation, which is beleaguered with problems of reconstruction and alienation." (Lawrence Chua, Village Voice)