Where is Elias from?

The actor is Italian yes, but if his character were, he would be European, and as such, free to walk in Paris with his Italian papers ;)

He's probably from an area around Turkey -- maybe not Turkey itself but maybe Iraq or Syria. It's never explicitly said what country he's from -- when he meets a compatriot, they just talk about "the country". It can clearly be heard that the other guy isn't as "fluent" in his own language than Elias (he speaks slowly, see?), so it's probably not a made-up language, but where from? I have no idea. I don't think it's the point, though. He's just come "from the (Southern) East". That's the point.

Also,the first part of the film at the beach hotel is supposed to be in Greece,but all of the people working there (except a porter) speak french and english,and also,the police cars and policemen aren't greek.So it's obvious that Gavras doesn't want to be "specific" about places and backrounds.

Libya had the highest standard of living on the continent of Africa under Khadafi (which is why it had to be destroyed) so he probably wouldn't be coming from there. Most Algerians speak French fluently so that might not fit either. Ironically, the actor himself is a rich and highly cultured Italian.


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