Le bleu du caftan

"Halim" (Saleh Bakri) lives with his ailing wife "Mina" (Lubna Azabal) and together they run a small tailoring business. Now he is a master craftsman, everything is measured, cut and stitched by hand - a fairly labour intensive and time consuming process. To help meet the demands of his impatient customers, he has acquired an handsome apprentice "Youssef" (Ayoub Missioui) who takes a keen interest in his work and demonstrates an aptitude that is increasingly appreciated by "Halim". What's also fairly obvious is that both men are attracted to each other and we now embark on a rather delicate triangle in which the two men - entirely platonically - develop their relationship under the watchful gaze of his wife whom we suspect suspects, but... It's a very gently paced film this, allowing the three strong performances from these on-form character actors to develop slowly and engagingly and though the underpinning issues of sexuality in a country that is still largely unwelcoming is part of the theme, it is not a greater a part than the observation of the couple's happy marriage nor of the creative beauty of the men's skills at creating garments of delicacy and fineness. It's a film about discovery and family and I found it worked really quite well as we navigate a myriad of challenges towards the conclusion that, like the rest of this story, is anything but simple. It's quite observational in nature, so don't expect things to rattle along - they don't, but it draws together threads of lives and choices in as intricate a fashion as any of his creations and is really well worth a watch.

A sensitively drawn chamber piece for the three actors. Lubna Azabal especially delivers a finely crafted performance encompassing the breadth of human emotions. Wonderful.

A convenience, an arrangement but with love, like the hand that nestles firmly within glove, a partnership, a pairing, with the coalition fearing, that an influence might thrust down from above; as events are taken out of their control, a condition leaving one without parole, a fight that can't be won, a world that's gradually undone, a price to pay, with the heaviest of tolls; all performed with so much elegance and grace, as two people braid, entwine, surround, embrace, whose devotion and whose caring, elevate just what is sharing, with respect, regard and reverence their embrace.

It's a beautiful film, with beautiful performances from beautiful people.

I really did want to like this Moroccan drama, and indeed, it is very beautifully and carefully executed, but I did find it just a bit too languid and nuanced for its own good, perhaps also finally just a little too sad and poignant, but it lingers in the mind, and like the precision snd skill of the kaftan maker, struggling with his sexuality and the conflicts of the society he is in, it does create a lasting effect. Not only a touching drama, but it highlights some very human themes and struggles.

Of course, a film from a Muslim country with themes on homosexuality and the struggles of individuals in a repressed society is a brave but necessary thing, and for that the makers should be congratulated. Beautifully crafted by all concerned.

Where to begin? Defying all the taboos and presenting a queer love story in arabic cinema, a pure presentation of love at its best. Beautifully filmed and edited in a magnificent and elegant craft. Career defying performance by the film leads! Devastating and yet beautiful story/ fairytale if i dare say so.

Intimate, personal, small yet larger than life film where the vulnerability of its characters made me feel i was an intruder in their presence ears dropping on their story from behind the curtain. Feeling their emotions and sharing their experiences Thanks to the beautiful work of its director. I wish for the whole world to watch this film because it is exactly why I love cinema! This film have the power to change lives!