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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 27.Jun.25

Red Path
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

MUST SEE

dir Lotfi Achour
scr Natacha de Pontchara
prd Anissa Daoud, Sebastien Hussenot, Lotfi Achour
with Ali Helali, Yassine Samouni, Wided Dabebi, Younes Naouar, Latifa Gafsi, Jemii Lamari, Salha Nasraoui, Mounir Khazri, Noureddine Hamami, Eya Bouteraa, Rayen Karoui, Sana Ben Med Jabaalah
release Tun 23.Apr.25,
US Apr.25 sfiff, UK 20.Jun.25
24/Tunisia 1h41

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Based on a true story, this Tunisian drama is infused with honest horror and emotion as seen through the eyes of a young teen. Beautifully photographed by Wojciech Staron and directed by Lotfi Achour, scenes finely observe both the local culture and universal feelings about justice and grief. This is a bold, beefy story that is packed with riveting events and interactions. And its warm undercurrent is hugely engaging.

Heading into the mountains, 13-year-old Achraf (Helali) is tending to a flock of goats with his older teen cousin Nizar (Samouni). As they pause for lunch and some playful antics, they're suddenly attacked by terrorists who murder Nizar and tell the badly shaken Achraf to take his head home as a warning. Arriving in the village, Achraf tells Nizar's girlfriend Rahma (Dabebi) before taking the news home. The family wants to retrieve his body, although Achraf's mother (Nasraoui) understandably doesn't want him go back up there. Still, he leads the men back to the spot.

In the opening scenes with Nizar, Achraf comments that he's further from home than he's ever been. Soon this is far more true than he can understand, and he relives the fateful moments over and over, seeing Nizar everywhere around him, including in his haunting dreams. So heading back up into the mountains rattles him deeply, especially as events continue to unfold. Through all of this, the sense of grief for each member of this family is revealed with unusual nuance.

Young Helali is superb as a boy whose life is sent spiralling in an incomprehensible direction. We vividly see the shock set in, fear followed by bewildering disbelief and a striking sense of internal resolve. This is a full-bodied performance that takes the audience on an intensely powerful journey. His ongoing mind's-eye friendship with Samouni's charismatic Nizar has beautiful textures. And the people around Achraf are so earthy, complex and authentic that they can't help but bring everything to life.

Reacting to this situation, the family understands that the state will never find justice for Nizar. And they have no sympathy at all for whatever cause the killers are fighting for. These people just want to live their lives apart from the political problems of the region. But it's impossible to expect that they can remain untouched by these things. So the film works both as an account of a specific story and a much wider reminder.

themes, language, violence 19.Jun.25

Salt Water Agua Salá
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir-scr Steven Morales Pineda
prd Steven Morales Pineda, Gabriel Gonzalez Rodriguez, Grace Morales Pineda
with Luis Mario Jimenez, Oscar Salazar, Braian Villa Aburaad, Jhonatan Yerena, Clarissa Cuadros, Lizeth Jimenez, Rafael Moreno, Isaac Rubio, Lucilla Padilla, Carolina Galeano
release US 27.Jun.24
24/Colombia 1h23

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Based on real events, this earthy Colombian drama is assembled with superb handheld camerawork and authentic settings. Filmmaker Steven Morales Pineda maintains an internalised, relaxed tone, cutting through the intensely serious subject matter with warm humour and lovely connections. Even the plot's more momentous points are played in an understated way that carries a strong kick. So it becomes a tender but provocative tale of forgiveness and redemption.

In a lively beach community outside Barranquilla, 32-year-old Jacobo (Jimenez) has a relaxing life as a yoga teacher and empanada seller, living with his married boyfriend Erasmo (Yerena) in a house his mother (Cuadros) wants to sell. Then Jose Luis (Salazar), a priest protesting his innocence in a sexual abuse scandal, moves back to town. Jacobo reconnects with him, even though he feels past abuse has left him unable to develop a relationship. Indeed, when he begins growing closer to Erasmo, he reflexively asks him to move out, offering the room to Jose Luis instead.

After leaving his nursing job during the pandemic, Jacobo has adopted a Peter Pan sensibility, refusing to grow up. He maintains close friendship with childhood pal Brian (Aburaad), who may have repressed memories of being abused. This adds a sharp edge to the way Jacobo so gently accepts Jose Luis, even as he insists that he never touched an altar boy. The subtle question is whether seducing his abuser might provide proof and answer his gnawing questions about himself.

Naturalistic performances pull us into the story, identifying with the characters in unexpected ways. Jimenez gives Jacobo a beautifully open-hearted quality that's expressed with his full physicality. His connections with his mother, Brian, Jose Luis and Erasmo emerge in remarkably elemental ways that let us see into his soul. What each person is feeling is unusually complex. And the supporting actors also bring bracing credibility to their roles.

The story quietly plays out in chapters that are titled as stages in a spiritual retreat, echoing Jacobo's yoga lessons, as well as his zen-like approach. But he's also clinging to the past in the form of this house, and this priest as well. There's a stunning contrast later to Brian's gleaming modern home, and he tells Jacobo to snap out of it. As does his mother. But Jacobo needs to find the truth in his own way, and this is a moving depiction of how only the whole truth can set you free.

themes, language, sexuality 27.Jun.25

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