Another old analysis translated to into the medium of moving pictures:
Hounds (2024)
A father, perpetually down on his luck, ropes his son into a job that will spiral into chaos in this tense Moroccan crime thriller.
Hounds opens appropriately, but nonetheless upsettingly, at the end of a dog-fight in which Dib (Abdellatif Lebkiri) sits collapsed by his bloodied and lifeless canine. Believing that the victor and his crew have cheated, it sparks a desire for vengeance in which no-one is without fault – there are no ’good’ people.
Jailbird Hassan (Abdellatif Masstouri) is eager to make money however he can and so takes Dib up on his offer to kidnap one of the crew, taking along his more streetwise and cautious son Issam (Ayoub Elaïd). But when the rental car for the job is delivered and is coloured red, apparently a bad omen, things are not destined to be that easy. There is a knowing black-humour that accompanies the more grim turns as the assignment becomes more involved.
Set in the darkly-lit underbelly of Casablanca, there is a grittiness that envelopes our men on a mission as they become more entangled: each situation hairier than the last, each hurdle that much higher. Hassan and his son will have to avoid the police, the rival crew and any potential onlookers as they scramble to fix their predicament. All of this whilst plagued by superstition.
Over the course of this one crazy night it will become clear that the central duo are the titular hounds, the underlings employed for the dirty work. The impressive cast are made up of non-actors, giving an authenticity that is helped by the documentary shooting style.
A simple, lean and suspenseful debut film from writer-director Kamal Lazraq.
Roll Over Oedipus
Tried to make a short one I did.
Then tried to make it shorter, as a short.
Bit much maybe.
Shoshana (2024)
Written for RAF News February 2024
A defiant relationship between a Jewish woman and a member of the British Palestine Police Force is at the heart of Michael Winterbottom’s political thriller set in late 1930s Tel Aviv.
Based on real people and events, the backdrop to the romance between Assistant Superintendent Thomas Wilkin (Douglas Booth) and journalist Shoshana Borochov (Irina Starshenbaum), is the violent foundation of the Israeli state during the British Mandate of Palestine. At a time when Jewish immigrants are seeking refuge from Nazi-occupied countries, and the division between Arab and Jewish populations is becoming more pronounced, British forces are tasked with containing radical extremists. Acts of terrorism are growing in size and severity, presenting ideas and imagery that resonate with the ongoing Israel – Hamas conflict.
Shoshana is the daughter of a revolutionary Marxist Zionist, and a member of Haganah: an underground territorial defence force that advocates for the creation of an independent Jewish state. Wilkin is shown to have embedded himself into the community, earning a mutual trust that is abandoned by the new Superintendent Geoffrey Morton (Harry Melling) who intends to snuff out the Jewish independence movement, despite their wish for peace. Forcing Tom and Shoshana into opposition, their relationship looks to become just another casualty in this enveloping war of ideals.
The shooting style and editing pace do well to suspend you in uncertainty, as the ticking time-bomb of political unease is probed in the hunt for Avraham Stern (Aury Alby), leader of the Zionist paramilitary organisation Irgun.
Intended to show how political extremism forges enemies, even of lovers, the tensions of the relationship are symbolised in the warring factions of the region, however the combat makes the quarrelled love affair feel trivial by comparison.
Despite shifting focus the final act of Shoshana is thrilling, and though it has been a passion project 15 years in the making, it is unfortunately more relevant than ever.
samcooney 