Dir: Leyla Bouzid | Cast: Hiam Abass, Eya Bouteraa, Marion Barveau | France/Tunisia 113′
The seaside town of Sousse is the setting for this lyrical inter generational love story that explores taboo sexuality in contemporary Tunisia through the eyes of a woman and her extended family.
Lillia, 32, a sophisticated Tunisian engineer based in Paris, hasn’t been home to Sousse for a while but memories of her childhood there flood back during a family reunion to attend the funeral of her uncle and unravel his death. Daly was found in mysterious circumstances and a post mortem was inconclusive putting a curse on the family furthering complicating the mourning process. Over strong mojitos, with mint from the balcony, Lilia’s aunt Hayet (Chamari) questions Lilia’ reasons for staying away. These will soon become clear.
Flighty camerawork and a lilting exotic score accentuate the sense of anxiety and enigma – the traditional expectations and truth surrounding Daly’s homosexually and Lilia’s inability to reveal her own lesbian relationship to the women in close-knit family, let alone the males in a thorny tale of confusion and tawdry home truths. A police investigation into Daly’s possible murder then gets underway further complicating the delicate state of affairs making it even more difficult to navigate.
At the same time nostalgic memories of the past keep intruding into the harsh reality of the present with a talented cast well equipped to give their own subtle reactions to the complex issues at stake. In a tricky role Buteraa’s Lilia grapples with several complexities: revealing her lesbian relationship to her mother Wahida (Abbass), so she can introduce her partner to the rest of the family; and squaring the situation with her girlfriend Alice (Barbeau) who has come with her to Sousse but forced to stay in the background until the time is right. All this unfolds alongside the putative murder investigation that burbles away in the background in a fraught domestic drama that Bouzid handles with grace and a lightness of touch in her exquisite mise en scene.