Harsh and beautiful - the land, the mother, the story. Djamila Sahraoui pays beautiful tribute here to the complexity of love, of land, of family in a quiet, meditative film that dares to take the time to let viewers see and think and feel on their own.
After several impressive documentaries and her emotionally rich first feature, "Barakat!", she continues telling stories about Algeria and its recent past. Working with several local actors, on location in Algeria, she manages to communicate - with very spare dialogue - the fratricidal nature of the civil war and the complex motivations involved in choosing sides. She portrays the slow rhythm of the countryside, the cycles of life and death.
Beautiful camera work with natural light, a testimony to how well a story can be told when it has to be told, no matter how small the budget.
After several impressive documentaries and her emotionally rich first feature, "Barakat!", she continues telling stories about Algeria and its recent past. Working with several local actors, on location in Algeria, she manages to communicate - with very spare dialogue - the fratricidal nature of the civil war and the complex motivations involved in choosing sides. She portrays the slow rhythm of the countryside, the cycles of life and death.
Beautiful camera work with natural light, a testimony to how well a story can be told when it has to be told, no matter how small the budget.
