everaertjoh

In Kabylie, rude mountain region in the north of Algeria. Arezki finds the young Larbi exhausted, buried under the snow. He takes him in and nurses him until he's recovered. The host seduces Arezki's daughter. She is pregnant. This is an unsupportable shame to the father of the female sinner. Arezki claims vengeance. He leaves his house and takes the oath not to come back before having killed Larbi who betrayed him under his own roof. - Frightening tradition. The seducer must pay with his blood the price of the baffled honor. Sober direction, and hard as the cruel law. Strength of the actor Arezki between his goodness and the contradictions where the customs enclose him. Austere, magnificent landscapes. The film got lots of prices.

This téléfilm film on the life of Mary, Joseph's wife and Jesus' mother, from the conception of Jesus to the Assumption into heaven at the side of her son, is a biblical story. That means, it follows the texts of the Holy Scriptures to the letter. A couple of scenes are taken from apocryphal writings. It's the very human story of a village woman called to a transcendental task: to be the mother of God. The mystical experiences, difficult to film are approached with humanity. There is no exaggerated sentimentality. The plot follows the life of Jesus as mentioned in the Gospels. Nice historical reconstruction of the sites, the costumes and the customs.