“Oussekine” is a brand new four-part French drama series that tells the real story of the tragic death of student Malik Oussekine, who died in Paris in 1986 after being chased and beaten to death by police after walking home from a night out, and ran into a protest against immigration restrictions.

The hard-hitting series slowly unravels the events of the attack and the aftermath of Malik’s death.  Not just from the families’ point of view but also within the police, who instantly went into deflect mode, trying to hide what had happened and trying to convenience people that Malik was a terrorist and a protestor, which was very far from the truth.  So we get to see the family try to defend his honour and uncover the truth over who killed Malik.   It’s terrible to see how the family suffered from physical attacks and a smear campaign to discredit them.

Another interesting aspect of this series is how it gives an insight into the lives of the Oussekine family, who moved from Algeria to France.  We get to see the conflict within the family, as the younger generation thinks of themselves as French, while the older members, consider themselves Algerian.  Throw in some conflict with different religions and, more importantly, the racism that they all had to suffer from, both before the attack and afterwards.

“Oussekine” is a fantastic drama series, that I really enjoyed, and I think that it’s seriously worth taking your time to check out.  The series is available with English dubbing, which hasn’t always been the way with other international Disney+ Originals like ‘Snowdrop”.  I know some people prefer subtitles, but for me, having a dubbed version was one major reason why I was able to enjoy the show.   With just four one hour episodes, it’s an easy binge.  I found it captivating as once I started the first episode, I ended up binging the entire series in one sitting, because I just wanted to find out what happened and, more importantly, see justice served.

I had never heard of this story before, and I think this series did a fantastic job of explaining the situation in France in the eighties, how it had built up to it and the aftermath of Malik’s death.

“Oussekine” really showcases the strengths of utilising international content to deliver some great content and tell stories that major US studios might not tell.  “Oussekine” is another high quality original for adults, that can easily sit alongside “Dopesick” or “The Dropout”, it’s a high-quality drama series that should be checked out.

Rating – 4.5 Out Of 5

“Oussekine” is coming to Disney+ in many countries, including France, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on Wednesday 11th May 2022.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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