The Blue Caftan
Maryam Touzani’s deeply humane romantic drama from Morocco displays real artistry.
This is only the second feature film to have been made by Maryam Touzani who was born in Tangier in 1980 but it is markedly the work of an artist. As conceived by Touzani and her partner Nabil Ayouch (he is the film’s producer and is credited as her collaborator on the screenplay), this is a film that demands respect for both its aesthetic quality and for the deep concern that Touzani and Ayouch have for their subject matter. Yet another point in its favour is the expert casting that has yielded excellent performances from its three leading players. Nevertheless, the fact that this is a minimalistic film lasting just over two hours surely means that some viewers will find it on their wavelength while others may not.
The Blue Caftan won the Fipresci award at Cannes in 2022 but, much as it deserves to be admired, my own response is more mixed than I had anticipated. I suspect that I have been influenced by the expectations that I brought to Tazouni’s film seeing it as a work that invited comparison with another recent release, Saim Sadiq's Joyland. That brave work from Pakistan was a drama containing a deeply human plea for positive recognition to be given to the diversity of sexuality. The three central characters, all viewed sympathetically, were a gay man named Haider, his wife and a trans dancer to whom Haider becomes attracted. Fine as Joyland was, I regretted that the tragedy in the situation depicted was allowed to reach such a heavy, downbeat conclusion.
With acting hardly less distinguished than that in Joyland, The Blue Caftan makes a comparable plea for understanding in the context of life today in Morocco where same-sex sexual activity is a criminal offence. Again, three characters are pivotal. Halim (Saleh Bakri) has a caftan store in the medina of a north-western city and as a master tailor or maalem is devoted to his craft. He is much helped by his wife, Mina (Lubna Azabal), although her assistance is less than it once was due to health problems. In the circumstances he is much encouraged to find that his latest apprentice, Youssef, a young man in his twenties (Ayoub Missioui), is proving skilled and eager to learn.
As the film develops, The Blue Caftan proves to have two major concerns. In so far as it offers a plot, this is a film centred on the fact that Halim is secretly gay and now finds himself drawn to Youssef who feels the same. Previously Halim has relied on passing encounters in a local bathhouse to satisfy his gay needs, but the close bond between him and his wife – they truly are a devoted couple –is that Mina willingly turns a blind eye although, when she becomes aware of his feelings for Youssef who is regularly present, a certain sense of jealous resentment surfaces. Seeing her overcome this and witnessing the caring natures of both Halim and Youssef ensures that all three emerge as engaging, sympathetic people and all three players are first class. Azabal’s special qualities marked her out as far back as 2010 when she starred in Incendies, while Bakri, so good in Wajib (2017,) is equally impressive here and Missioui, a newcomer, matches them.
The other theme central to The Blue Caftan lies in its portrayal of a traditional craft that is dying out as the old personal skills yield to demand for machine-made fabrics available more readily and more cheaply. This aspect has encouraged Touzani to relish the colours of the caftans seen here and to feature colour photography by Virginie Surdej which captures the tactility of the material vividly. All of this adds to the sense that Touzani’s film is a work of art but, while the personal, emotional tale and the lament for a passing craft make for a stylistic fit, the limited dialogue and the slow pace inherent in the film’s minimalism do in time lead to a feeling that everything is being stretched out.
Even more significantly, I approached The Blue Caftan under the impression that it would avoid the over-emphatic tragedy found at the end of Joyland and in some way promote a shared understanding between the three main characters. I can't say here what does happen although this may indeed be the note that it is hoping to strike. Nevertheless, I found the conclusion less uplifting than it could have been. For that reason, fairly or unfairly, The Blue Caftan is a film that I do indeed respect and admire but which ultimately I could not love.
Original title: Le bleu du caftan.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui, Mounia Lamkimel, Abdellamid Zoughi, Zakaria Atifi, Fouzia Ejjawi, Mohamed Tahri Joutey Hassani.
Dir Maryam Touzani, Pro Nabil Ayouch, Screenplay Maryam Touzani with Nabil Ayouch, Ph Virginie Surdej, Pro Des Emmanuel De Meulemeester, Ed Nicolas Rumpl, Music Kristian Selin and Eidnes Andersen, Costumes Rafika Ben Maimoun.
Les Films du Nouveau Monde/Ali n’ Productions/Velvet Films/Snowglobe Films/Canal+/Ciné+/VOO-New Wave Films.
122 mins. France/Morocco/Belgium/Canada/Denmark/Germany. 2022. US Rel: 10 February 2023. UK Rel: 5 May 2023. Cert. 12A.
