After two authentic, impressive shorts set in Somalia, Life on the Horn (2020) and Will My Parents Come to See Me (2022), director Mo Harawe arrives with full power in Un Certain Regard with the compelling plot and rich images of The Village Next to Paradise (2023).
The Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Haware breaks away from the familiar narratives around African films like gold mining, civil war, wild animals, violence and trauma. He uses these internationally-recognised tropes only to introduce a context, and no more. The film starts with a news clip from British TV announcing a drone strike against a leading figure of the Al-Shabab militant group, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda. But slowly, we are taken to an underdeveloped and marginalized village named Paradise, where the bright blue water and beautiful beach are perfectly accessible, but the residents are too busy making ends meet to enjoy them. Everyday is a struggle and a privilege.
The drone sequence is brilliantly used by Harawe to introduce Mamargade (Ahmed Ali Farah), a single father who works odd jobs like digging graves or driving shipments across the Somali coast for shady business owners. He receives a group of mourners carrying the body of a man killed in a drone strike. Mamargade has already dug the grave. After the Islamic funeral prayer and the burial, he is angry to receive only half his money.
When he returns home, he is met by his young son Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban), later discovered to be a crucial protagonist in the story, who tells his father he had to do “drone training” in school. This entailed getting on the floor and putting his hands on his head, which the boy repeats in a scene shot with dark humor and not too much commentary about the miserable reality locals, children included, have to endure. Haware also allows Cigaal to have normal kid problems, like the strange dreams he is eager to share with his father and his schoolmates.
Father and son share the house with Mamargade’s sister Araweelo (Anab Ahmed Ibrahim) who is first introduced as she is finishing her divorce. Both brother and sister aspire to having enough to make a stable life and better future for Cigaal, despite the almost non-existent schooling available. While Mamargade prefers hustle jobs on the side and indulging in some khat, Araweelo wants to have enough money to open a tailor shop.
Hawara concentrates on the uniqueness of the Somali context, without dumbing it down or orientalising it for a wider audience. Whether it is the language, food, police uniforms or eating khat, the film champions the mundane and tries to find beauty in the normal. Nevertheless, Somalia has suffered from years of conflict and foreign intervention. In the background of many of the characters’ misfortunes are militant attacks, illegal fishing, pollution, piracy, and radicalism.
At times the film depicts pessimism and trauma, all captured beautifully by the tender camerawork of Mostafa El Kashef. For example, a mourning woman who is standing at the grave of her young daughter (just dug by Mamargade) asks why people have children in this world. Both Mamargade and Araweelo have gone through several personal defeats and failed romances. He mentions in passing that he had to pick up and bury the mutilated body parts of victims of a suicide terrorist attack. Similarly, Araweelo’s new friend recounts how her parents were mistaken for pirates and were shot dead in their illegal fishing boat. As the plot develops, this pessimism turns into a testament to persistence, and healing through family and unwavering love.
Director, screenwriter: Mo Harawe
Cast: Ahmed Ali Farah, Anab Ahmed Ibrahim, Ahmed Mohamud Saleban
Producers: Sabine Moser & Oliver Neumann
Cinematography: Mostafa El Kashef
Editing: Joana Scrinzi
Production design: Nuur Abdulkadir
Sound: Willis Abuto, Anne Gibourg, Guadalupe Cassius, Christophe Vingtrinier
Production company: FreibeuterFilm
World sales: Totem Films
Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard)
In Somali, Arabic
133 minutes
