The Mother of All Lies review – pursuing the truth of Morocco’s brutal dictatorship years

-
Asmae El Moudir employs a delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony to brilliantly evoke personal and collective trauma Between those who refuse to remember and those who struggle to forget, a tumultuous clash of minds occupies the centre of Asmae El Moudir’s inventive documentary, a prize-winner at last year’s Cannes film festival. Through a constellation of clay figurines and dollhouse-style miniature sets, most of which were constructed by El Moudir’s father, the director recreates her oppressive childhood in the Sebata district of Casablanca. Under the watchful eyes of her domineering grandmother Zahra, all personal photos are banished from the house, save for a picture of King Hassan II. The delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony brilliantly evokes the personal and collective trauma that stem from Morocco’s “Years of Lead” – a period of state brutality under Hassan II’s dictatorial rule. Lingering on the nimble fingers of El Moudir’s father as he puts t
Post a Comment

You Resemble Me review – portrait of the ‘female suicide bomber’ who wasn’t

-

Expertly blending fiction, news footage and interviews, this potent debut pieces together the events leading to Hasna Aït Boulahcen’s killing by French police

Dina Amer is a former Vice News journalist making a fierce feature debut with this vehement, focused and often disturbing movie, plausibly and sympathetically creating a backstory for a real-life case and finally aligning the fictionalised mise en scène, news footage and interviews with expert assurance and care.

You Resemble Me is an imagined response to the case of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a young French woman of Moroccan descent who had been radicalised by Islamic State and was killed in 2015 during the raid on a Paris apartment building after the terrorist attacks on various targets, including the Bataclan theatre. The siege culminated in a shootout and an explosion; afterwards excitable media reporters claimed Aït Boulahcen was Europe’s “first female suicide bomber”, with much prurient commentary about her former troubled life as a “party girl”. In fact, forensic evidence showed the bomber was an unidentifiable man.

Continue reading...

from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/zkvFs4i
via IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gasoline Rainbow review – a free-ranging coming-of-age ode to the curiosity of youth

-
Billed as a gen Z road trip film, the Ross brothers’ first fiction feature offers more than you’d expect from the genre, with a focus on human interaction over plot In the opening seconds of the Ross brothers’ new film, a teenager professes his hope to discover a place “weirdos” like him can call home. The opening raises doubts about the novelty of what might follow: the trope of the high school outsider has been endlessly revisited. Gasoline Rainbow – billed as a gen Z road trip movie – starts off by replaying familiar images. As new high school graduates Makai, Micah, Nathaly, Nichole and Tony hit the road across Oregon for one final adventure together, we see the usual trappings of the genre: sing-alongs, parties by the campfire, and leaning out of car windows to enjoy the breeze and sweet call of freedom. We move into welcome new territory when a mishap leaves their van out of action, and the group are left in the hot desert trying to scrounge a path forward, meeting strangers al
Read more

Elaha review – sex, patriarchy and second-generation identity

-
A sexually candid, seriously intentioned drama about a young Kurdish woman who feels she has to surgically ‘restore’ her virginity before her wedding There is a heartfelt and courageous performance from 28-year-old Syrian-born, German-based actor Bayan Layla in this drama about sex, patriarchy and second-generation immigrant identity. It is a drama which hits the buttons squarely and efficiently, but might perhaps have played better as a three-part TV drama. Layla plays Elaha, a young woman of Kurdish family background in a German town (director Milena Aboyan is herself German-based and Armenian-Kurdish). She has finished high school and is now attending classes on how to apply for jobs, picking up skills she uses mainly to help her dad find employment. There seems to be no discussion about university, despite her obvious intelligence. Her mum works hard minding Elaha’s younger sister and disabled kid brother, and Elaha has part-time work at a dry-cleaners; she is saving for her wedd
Read more

Shraddha Kapoor roped in as co-founder by demi fine jewellery start-up Palmonas

-
Palmonas, the demi-fine jewellery startup, has announced the addition of Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor as its co-founder. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the industry, with Kapoor's involvement stemming from a serendipitous interaction on Instagram. Founded by Pallavi Mohadikar and Dr Amol Patwari, the demi-fine jewellery brand uses surgical-grade stainless steel elegantly plated with 18k gold tone and sterling silver plated with gold vermeil which is a 2.5-micron thick layer of 18K gold. This unique combination not only sets it apart in the industry but also establishes a standard of affordable luxury accessible to a diverse audience. Celebrated for its exquisite designs, superior craftsmanship, and affordable prices, PALMONAS has gained widespread acclaim for its contemporary and minimalistic jewellery collections made from sterling silver, stainless steel, and gold vermeil. Pallavi Mohadikar, Founder of Palmonas, shared the exciting journey of discovering
Read more