The Blue Caftan

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 saw this movie as a part of the Gothenburg Film Festival this year, 2023.

A story about a man and his wife, and the new apprentice, in their sewing business. It's about craftsmanship and love, in so many ways. It's about leaning on each other and trusting one another.

For me this was a really beautiful and moving movie. So much love, caring and feelings between the beautiful characters. The story is moving and gives hope and understanding for what they all go thru - and cannot control. Really high quality acting and story telling that's just amazing to see and made us both laugh and cry. And the craftsmanship that is shown is very fascinating. Beautiful caftans, especially the blue one.

A love story unlike any other. The love of craft & beauty, love of another person, the romantic love of two people at once, love of life itself & the love for the simplest things in life that give life meaning.

It is set in an independant caftan store in a small town in Morocco where the husband & wife owner craft hand stitched, quality caftans against the backdrop of a modernising trade that uses machinery. Customers are demanding, often impatient & the craft of hand made caftans is slowly losing to quickly made caftans via sewing machines.

You appreciate the value of craftsmanship, passion & the process involved through the intimate filming & sheer amount of time it takes to hand stitch a caftan.

The husband is secretly gay & starts to develop feelings for the new apprentice. His wife, who he dearly loves likely knows but loves him for who he is. This exploration of sexuality & free expression in the small town setting is heart wrenching as is the way the movie depicts the husbands love for his increasingly sick wife.

It makes you think about what love really is. With the sick wife facing her mortality, she still holds on to her sense of duty while making the most of the simplest things in life.

The apprentice adds an interesting dynamic & shows the loyalty of the husband when his wife truly needs him despite him also being sexually interested in men.

The music, setting, foods, drinks, hamams & clothing give an intimate insight in to small town Moroccan life. The creation & eventual destination of the Blue Caftan is a metaphor for how we might choose to make decisions in life based on love, rather than just money.

A powerful, philosophical, tender & heartwrenching movie that makes you feel. Well done!

"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.

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.