★★★★★: Date Wine by Radwan El-Kashef

 

I am beyond grateful that I got to experience this: because this is what it is, an overwhelmingly immersive experience into a part of our society so seldom ventured. Above all, it’s a heart-wrenching tale of the weight of of a war between an alien modernity and bone-crushing tradition which countless Egyptian women have had to endure; it may be set in the rural past, but the pain of forced migration and crippling patriarchy resonates with too many of us. Fayza Amasaib’s performance was immensely powerful, and the interweaving of fantasy with reality when combined with the dark, shadowy lighting and zar-like score elevates this from a simple film to a folktale spun to life, whispered beneath flickering candlelight and the nostalgic smell of b5oor. I already know this is an artwork which I’ll revisit again and again, and carve a new cavern in my heart to accommodate its beauty each and every time.

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