By Roger Costa
In Phillipe Faucon’s French drama “Fatima” three women of the same family, a mother and her two daughters, face different consequences of their immigrant status. Originally from North Africa, the Arabic-speaking matriarch Fatima (Soria Zeroual) struggles to educate her daughters with principles and values, fearing the influence of a society living with no rules.
The oldest is about to move out, stepping on a new level of maturity, as she’s focusing all her strength on her goal to attend medical school, while the youngest represents the rebellion of a naturally distracted teenager delving into doubts and insecurity. Fatima works as a house cleaner, which upsets both daughters, as they don’t understand their mother’s submission and dedication to such humiliating conditions, on their own words.
Winner of multiple Cesar Awards, including the top prizes of Best Film, Actress and Writing, and an Official Selection at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, director Faucon analyses the consequences of being an immigrant, the arduous and constant struggles in search of settlement and respect. As Fatima observes and alerts her daughters of drifting away from their cultural identity, faith and moral beliefs, as well as their poor Arabic-speaking, the daughters are also trying to lift her out of her preconceptions, showing her new opportunities to succeed- including suggesting she should re-marry.
Fatima maintains herself occupied and close to her roots, as she writes letters in Arabic describing her feelings toward everything around her: the complicated union with the daughters, the tasks and tests of her cleaning duties, her ideas of men, society, contempt and acceptance. As she narrates her emotions extracted from her writings, the film shines a brighter light on the immigrant issue, creating a delicate and accurate demonstration of the basic humanitarian needs- family, respect and love.
The trio of actresses deliver moving performances as they confront themselves with truths involving their bonds, as well as their attempt to find harmony among their divergences. The director explores their talent, allowing them to fully express their inner emotions and revolt, resulting in a fine chemistry between strong interpretations and the representation of social issues.
FATIMA (Opens Friday, August 26th exclusively at Film Society of Lincoln Center in NYC, and at Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles on September 16th. A Kino Lorber Release)
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