Itar el-layl (2014) Reviews

• How do migrants and refugees find their place in the world ?

  FilmCriticLalitRao2015-03-22

  Moroccan film 'The Narrow Frame of Midnight' is helmed by Tala Hadid whose directorial credits include a full length documentary film "Scared Poet" on maverick Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. For this film, she chose to chart the journey of several characters who struggle to find their place in the world; in search of the living and the dead, of the others and of themselves. Although their destinies eventually diverge, they are connected in profound ways. For a story about the kidnapping of a small girl child by a petty criminal the pace of this film is rather slow. A state of 'non belonging' quasi synonymous with 'no man's land' is created when these two vulnerable souls are joined by a resolutely stubborn writer who has left everything behind in order to embark on a mission to search for his missing brother. There is a key focus on one of 21st century's biggest 'human' problems-displacement of people due to various reasons. The fields and planes of Istanbul, Kurdistan and Morocco paint a grim reminder of the pathetic conditions of exiles, migrants, nomads and refugees. The concept of the film is absolutely unique to a large extent that its making has come to be regarded as the breath of fresh air. Despite these nice qualities, this film suffers to a huge extent as its execution is bad. One key aspect of the film is that it manages to create a certain kind of suspense.

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• Well shot and it finds its moments, but it's too brief and underdeveloped.

  Sergeant_Tibbs2014-11-08

  Two stories collide in Morocco as a meek and lonely man goes in search for his brother lost in the Iraqi war whilst predators kidnap a young orphaned girl. He stumbles upon her in his journey and takes her to refuge with an ex-girlfriend, notably played by Marie-Josee Croze, to buy the girl some time. Although it has its share of unconvincing moments where the performances aren't well measured, they're human characters rich in their subtleties. It juxtaposes the naive innocence of the little girl with the anguish of the man in their unique situations. It's about saints and sinners, fulfilment and loss, and having a sense of home and security. The film is quite cryptic in what it's trying to achieve, lacking a distinct tension, and it doesn't close off things the way you would hope, especially given its brisk but sparse 70- minute runtime, but it finds engaging and identifiable moments. The sweeping photography gives the film heaps of atmosphere, capturing the dusts of a ruined life. It's a solid film, but lost potential in what it could've been. 6/10 Read more @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com/)

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• This is a wonderful movie. Visually poetic and gracefully put together.

  filks12014-10-19

  Why this has been given such low ratings so far can only be a reflection on the users of this database. If ever a film was worthy of actually being made then this is it. There is a beautiful contrast to the themes explored here but at the same time they harmoniously reflect the ways in which we deal with the darker happenings we may encounter in life. I'm not going to write paragraphs here. The message for me was don't hang around in the darkness for longer than you need to, and this is something that is always worthy of being reminded of. Adults get drawn to darkness, children to light. There is sometimes an unjustified amount of attention given to people who appear to have inner sufferings which sometimes makes me wonder if they unknowingly pursue such inner turmoil for this very reason alone. The camera in this movie is certainly drawn to such a character in one of it's main protagonists. Perhaps at times we all indulge suffering, awaiting life's stream to carry us on to the next uplifting chapters. This is cleverly put here in the final scenes. I really enjoyed this movie. Thank you.

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