Character Relationship Map: Bab El Web

Characters

• Bouzid (played by Faudel) — protagonist

  One of two brothers living by petty schemes in the popular Bab El-Oued neighborhood of Algiers, Bouzid is more jovial than his brother and passionate about the internet. His French chat correspondent,...

• Kamel (played by Samy Naceri) — supporting

  One of two brothers who live by petty schemes in the popular Bab El-Oued neighborhood of Algiers, Kamel is solitary and taciturn. He is Bouzid's brother and has a ram named Japonais, which he uses in...

• Laurence (played by Julie Gayet) — supporting

  A French woman who corresponds with Bouzid through online chat, Laurence tells him that she agrees to come and visit him in Algiers, invoking the idea of hospitality. Her planned arrival prompts Bouzi...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Bouzid → Kamel (Family Brother) — They are siblings sharing the same home and circumstances.

  The plot explicitly presents Bouzid and Kamel as two brothers living together in the popular district of Bab El-Oued.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Kamel → Laurence (Social Anticipated Acquaintance) — Their connection is indirect and formed through the brothers' shared response to Laurence's arrival plan.

  Kamel learns, together with Bouzid, that Laurence is coming to Algiers and is affected by the consequences of her visit.

• Bouzid → Laurence (Social Online Correspondents) — Their online correspondence motivates Laurence's planned visit to Algiers.

  Laurence is identified as Bouzid's French correspondent from online chat.

Story Analysis

Two brothers in Bab El-Oued see their precarious life transformed when an online correspondent plans to visit Algiers.

Plot Progression

1. Brothers Above Bab El-Oued — Bouzid and Kamel live together in Bab El-Oued and survive through various schemes. Their contrasting personalities and the changed view from their apartment establish their unstable daily world.
2. Contrasting Lives — Kamel is solitary and taciturn, while Bouzid is jovial and fascinated by online communication. Kamel's ram fights and Bouzid's online interests define their separate personal outlets.
3. A Visitor Promised — Laurence, Bouzid's French online correspondent, announces that she accepts the invitation to visit Algiers. The brothers must now respond to a possibility that had previously existed only through onli...
4. Hospitality On Credit — After learning of Laurence's planned visit, Bouzid and Kamel borrow money from a local patron in the name of hospitality. The debt places their already precarious lifestyle under new pressure.