Screenwriter Ghalya Lacroix’s work with Abdellatif Kechiche is very much in evidence in Erige Sehiri’s nicely contained choral debut Under the Fig Trees, and while it’s difficult to quantify how a significantly improvised script credited to three writers has been crafted to reflect a demonstrably female-centric viewpoint, the vibe and gaze are unmistakable. Set in a rural area of Tunisia with the action taking place in a single day and largely in one locale, the film weaves together ten characters working in a fig orchard whose stories work both separately and as a group, with an overall hard-to-achieve balance that gives respect and sympathy to all. Modest in scope yet crafted with care, Under the Fig Trees is an appealing first feature for the documentary-trained Sehiri that will benefit from festival attention, after its bow in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
The workday starts early for a group of women and men in Tunisia’s north-west as they wait for transport to the orchards. It’s summer and fig season, which means sweat-inducing work amidst trees that offer some shade as well as a certain intimacy under the delicate branches. Sehiri treats the narrative as a kind of roundelay in which Frida Marzouk’s supple camera alights on different figures as they interact, revealing parts of their stories in naturalistic ways. The orchard is owned by Saber (Fedi Ben Achour), a young boss who pretends to benevolence while ripping off his workers and putting the moves on the young women he treats as available objects, such as when he tells Melek (Feten Fdhili), “I can do whatever I want to you.”
Fortunately she’s got enough gumption to push him away, though not as much as Fidé (Fidé Fdhili), the most knowing and confident young woman in the group, who’s wise to how men behave and knows how to use just enough flirtatiousness to work to her advantage. This is an important day for Melek because she’s seeing Abdou (Abdelhak Mrabti), the boy she had a crush on five years earlier before he moved away to Monastir on the coast. One of the most fully realized characters and with a greater backstory than the others, Abdou is an orphan returned to the region to settle a land dispute with his uncle. Shy and kind, he’s clearly had a difficult time and can’t instantly reintegrate emotionally with those he once knew when they were mere kids.
Another story more developed than others is the relationship between the conservatively-minded Sana (Ameni Fdhili) and the man she plans on marrying, Firas (Firas Amri). He feels constrained by family expectations and isn’t willing to conform to the kind of life Sana wants, though she believes her influence can guide him to the proper path. Sana’s youthful feelings for Firas find a mirror in elderly Leila (Leila Ouhebi), who admits to still being in love with the married man she knew many years earlier.
The cast are all non-professional locals and were encouraged to improvise – especially important given that dialogue is in the Berber language spoken in that region. Sehiri must have workshopped with her performers for some time, given how comfortable they are in front of the camera and completely natural, not just in their line deliveries but their body language as well. While the single-day, single-location shooting gives the ensemble film a certain structure, she also has a keen feel for the rhythm of individual scenes and how they flow together, pausing in a sense during the midday break to bring everyone together as they relax in an idyllic shaded spot and listen to Leila’s song of lost love. That scene finds a compliment at the end, when the fierce sun is setting and the women clean up from the day’s work, applying makeup before getting into the back of their transport, singing in a joyful, empowering (and slightly naughty) song that emphasizes their solidarity despite differences.
Director: Erige Sehiri
Screenplay: Erige Sehiri, Ghalya Lacroix, Peggy Hamann
Cast: Ameni Fdhili (Sana), Fidé Fdhili (Fidé), Feten Fdhili (Melek), Samar Sifi (Mariem), Abdelhak Mrabti (Abdou), Fedi Ben Achour (Saber), Firas Amri (Firas), Gaith Mendassi (Ghaith), Hneya Ben Elhedi Sbahi (Hneya), Leila Ouhebi (Leila), Anter Maarzouk, Zouhayr Haddad, Amara Meherzi, Eljeya Rjab
Producers: Erige Sehiri, Didar Domehri.
Co-producers: Palmyre Badinier, Philippe Coeytaux, Nicolas Wadimoff, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad
Cinematography: Frida Marzouk
Production designer:
Costume designer: Nabila Cherif
Editing: Ghalya Lacroix, Hafedh Laaridhi, Malek Kammoun
Music: Amine Bouhafa
Sound: Aymen Laabidi, Yazid Chaabi, Jean-Guy Véran
Production companies: Henia Production (Tunisia), Maneki Films (France), Akka Films (Switzerland), In Good Company (Germany)
World sales: Luxbox
Venue: Cannes (Quinzaine des réalisateurs)
In Tunisian Berber
92 minutes
