Our movie review of the film Behind the Palms with Sara Giraudeau: the class struggle

The Story

In Tangier, Mehdi (Driss Ramdi) sees his relationship with Selma (Nadia Kounda) shaken up when he meets Marie (Sara Giraudeau), a wealthy French woman whose parents have bought a luxurious villa in the kasbah. Attracted by her high society life, he leaves Selma, pretending to ignore that his choices will catch up with him…

Our Opinion

Meryem Benm’Barek won the screenplay award in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 with Sofia, a piece that denounced the restriction – except in extreme cases – of abortion in Morocco and more generally the place of women in the country. Her new work falls in line with this theme and unfolds in a luminous Tangier, then shadowy before becoming completely dark in the end. A contemporary drama that uses thriller conventions while giving the impression of leaning towards romantic comedy.

The precise writing, combined with a desire to play with the codes of the love triangle and to film characters hindered by the laws, their social circles, allows for the portrayal of three characters, particularly revealing Driss Ramdi. The actor is perfect as a man with a predetermined life, caught by his desire before showing cowardice. The sensory direction, between naturalism and romanticism – a balance that the filmmaker did not find in her first feature film – shows a desire to focus on contrasts. An ideal choice to infuse an atmosphere that is both sweet… and cruel when daring to look beyond those famous palm trees.

DRAMA (Morocco-France, 1h34). By Meryem Benm’barek, with Sara Giraudeau, Driss Ramdi, Nadia Kounda. Rating: 3/5.