The Damned Don't Cry (2023)

The Damned Don't Cry (2023)

A well-acted and urgent drama done in an unfortunately flat and demanding style

5.3

Movie

Belgium, France
Arabic, French
Drama
2023
FYZAL BOULIFA
Abdellah El Hajjouji, Aïcha Tebbae, Antoine Reinartz
110 min

TLDR

Doesn't feel right to make a joke about this one, but I also wish more stuff even happened in this to try to joke about in the first place.

What it's about

A mother and her son who are trying to survive poverty in conservative Morocco become involved in sex work.

The take

There's a way to get tragedy right, in a way that keeps the drama engaging even as bad things continue to happen. The Damned Don't Cry gets its approach half-right, with the lead performances by Aïcha Tebbae and Abdellah El Hajjouji remaining sturdy all throughout, and never slipping into easy histrionics. But as the cycle of misfortune continues plaguing their characters, the filmmaking itself doesn't give us anything more to latch onto, with little progression in their arcs and a frustrating lack of insight into the very promising central relationship. There's no mistaking the film's good intentions, but the message arrives in an unfortunately clunky manner.

What stands out

Aïcha Tebbae and Abdellah El Hajjouji anchor this film's emotional core, even when the rest of the story threatens to dull it through its slow pace and its repetition of scenes. It's almost as if, to remind yourself of the film's potential, you only need to look at these actors to see how much character the people they're playing really have. Both Fatima-Zahra (Tebbae) and Selim (El Hajjouji) are attempting to conceal a level of shame from each other, out of compliance to the conservative society in which they live—even if accepting each other's sins is what should really be bringing them closer together.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Infamous (2006)

A slightly embellished, often compared, retelling that depicts the classic novelist’s larger-than-life spirit

7.0

Italian for Beginners (2000)

An understated, lighthearted romantic comedy made much more naturalistic through the Dogme ethos

7.0

Secrets of the Neanderthals (2024)

This plodding, unenergetic documentary sees neanderthals and humans as two branches on the same tree

6.0

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Breaking the Waves (1996)

Lars von Trier breaks his rules in the tearjerking first film of the Golden Heart trilogy

8.1

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Mona Lisa (1986)

A neo-noir love story that dives deep into London’s underworld

7.7

La Chimera (2023)

A dreamy, bewitching film that ponders on ideas of lostness and longing

8.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.