This film divided critics, some of whom found it slow and/or hard to follow. But I agreed with those that loved the rich tapestry of life in a small town in Morocco during Ramadan in 1981.
The film (which is gorgeously shot in a static, presentational style that recalls Kubrick at times) reminded me of films like 'Amarcord' and 'Nashville' – films that capture through multiple story lines the tragedy and comedy of life at a particular moment in a particular place.
What's so interesting here is that the culture is a foreign one to most westerners like myself, so there were moments I was lost, but many more where I felt a world I knew nothing of was being opened up to me, and – as cinema is so great at doing – the common ground we all share was found.
It does get slow at times, no doubt, and I did have a hard time keeping track some of the complex familial relationships. But as a 'memory film' of growing up under a repressive regime in a society both modern and feudal it made me laugh, made me think. and touched my heart.
The film (which is gorgeously shot in a static, presentational style that recalls Kubrick at times) reminded me of films like 'Amarcord' and 'Nashville' – films that capture through multiple story lines the tragedy and comedy of life at a particular moment in a particular place.
What's so interesting here is that the culture is a foreign one to most westerners like myself, so there were moments I was lost, but many more where I felt a world I knew nothing of was being opened up to me, and – as cinema is so great at doing – the common ground we all share was found.
It does get slow at times, no doubt, and I did have a hard time keeping track some of the complex familial relationships. But as a 'memory film' of growing up under a repressive regime in a society both modern and feudal it made me laugh, made me think. and touched my heart.
