Pépé le Moko

Pépé le Moko is a notorious thief who has taken shelter in the labyrinthine Casbah for nearly two years. Despite the police’s clear awareness of his presence, they cannot pin him down, protected by the community’s complicity and the maze-like streets that make escape feel almost possible. The Casbah becomes a cage that is at once cozy and perilous, where daily life continues while the outside world circles slowly closer. The pursuing officer Inspector Slimane develops a tense, almost personal dynamic with the thief, promising that if he ever sets foot beyond the walls, arrest will follow.

One night, the Parisian Gaby crosses into his orbit, and an intense attraction sparks between them. The romance adds a fragile glow to a city already thick with danger, drawing Pépé into a relationship that could upend his carefully guarded freedom. Meanwhile, Régis, a Casbah resident with outside ties, collaborates with the police and hatches a plan to lure Pépé out by using the thief’s ally Pierrot as bait — a scheme that could spill blood in the crowded alleyways. Slimane recognizes the depth of Pépé’s feelings for Gaby and brings the pair into the Casbah for a closer look.

Tensions boil over when Pierrot disappears, triggering a confrontation between Pépé and Régis. Gaby and Pépé reunite inside the maze and share a charged night, but the atmosphere darkens as Pierrot dies and Régis is killed, sending Gaby away without a final farewell. The blow pushes Pépé toward a fragile breakdown, yet Inès — Inès — stays by his side in the Casbah, weaving lies about Gaby’s whereabouts to keep him settled where he is.

Later, Pépé tracks Gaby down again inside the Casbah, and the couple returns to a tense, passionate rhythm, agreeing to meet the next day. Slimane steps in, warning Gaby’s fiancé that visiting the Casbah is dangerous, hoping that Pépé will be drawn out if she misses their rendezvous. Against the warning, Gaby chooses to go, only to be told by Slimane that Pépé has died. In a final bid to reach her, Pépé writes a letter to Gaby and entrusts its delivery to Carlos. When he learns that Gaby is preparing to leave Algiers, the grief-stricken man heads for the harbor, where Inès informs Slimane of his plan. The arrest comes at the docks, but as he watches the ship bearing Gaby away, Pépé takes his own life with a knife.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:02