Inhebbek Hedi
Directed by:
Mohamed Ben AttiaScreenplay:
Mohamed Ben AttiaComposer:
Omar AloulouPlots(1)
Young Tunisian Hedi lives an ordered life in which he believes there can be no more surprises. His future will play out as other people have planned. Take his mother for example, who always holds a protecting hand over him and has contributed to the fact that he has never been able to develop a mind of his own. Or his boss, who makes him dance to his tune and at whose behest Hedi has to undertake a business trip to Mahdia – of all times, in the week before his own wedding. Never mind, the family will take care of everything: after all, his mother did choose his bride ... But then something happens that nobody would ever have expected: at his hotel in Mahdia Hedi meets a young woman named Rim and falls in love with her. Rim works as a tourist guide and has both feet firmly planted on the ground. She wants to make a go of it abroad. But will Hedi also have the courage to escape his inner and outer prisons? An ostensibly personal story broadens into a panorama of a society in upheaval, an allegory about breaking away from traditions. And a film about the happiness and pain of freedom. (Berlinale)
(more)Reviews (3)
I was fascinated by the film’s locations because I am familiar with town Mahdia and its surroundings. But it wasn’t enough to make this film great, because the filmmaking is quite average and emotionless. When do you get a chance to watch a Tunisian film though? Especially if you are a movie fan…?
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Contemporary Tunisia through the story of a young man who cannot choose between a plan (tradition) and no plan (liberal relationship). What may sound like a model love biscuit, under the hands of debutant Mohamed Ben Attia, turns into a lively, bright and captivating pilgrimage of lands that hang in the timelessness between tradition and modernity. Between revolution and sobriety. Disaster and...? A strong film, self-inspired by Darden's kinetics, from which the director takes a part, but it does not feel like an epigon, but rather as an inventive observer of intimate relationships and their social context. A pleasure on many levels. Tunisian version of A Separation. [Berlinale 2016]
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I haven't had the opportunity to get acquainted with Tunisian cinema yet, so I gave Hedi a chance to try to charm me. Surprisingly, the film succeeded. I fully experienced the protagonist's insane indecision about whether to submit to binding traditions or choose his own path, which was perhaps ultimately guided by the intoxicating romance with the sensual dancer Rym. What is remarkable is that the film also works on the second level. By presenting a more visually appealing love story, it also sheds light on the shortcomings of conservative North African society, offering a bit of guidance on the direction it should take.
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