Zanka contact is not the answer

As we were making our way back from Tangier National Film Festival, sounds and echoes of issues around the participating movies and awards given arose and came out to the cultural and artistic surface. In my article, I will focus on feature films embracing a certain message to engaging audiences.

Questions of how and why we felt something was missing during the festival events were mixed with ‘mixed feelings of how we missed cinema and artistic events due to the pause the pandemic imposed on us. The festival was a chance to watch a number of attention-grabbing movies on various different topics such as: ‘Morjana’ by Jamal Swissi, ‘Jabal Moussa’ by Driss Mrini, ‘Habiba’ by Hassan Benjelloun, ‘Fatima, the unforgotten Sultana’ by Mohammed Abdurahman Tazi, and so many other wonderful pieces.

Movies’ discussions may have been however simple and unengaging. In this way, after watching movies that moved audiences and made the ‘so-called’ visions partially blurred; there was a sort of ‘question time’ to movie directors where the animators could have been passive and seemed to look forward to put away that hurdle and run off for a glass of freedom. A liberation searched for; nevertheless, might not be reached.

The award-winning movie was: ‘Zanka contact’. It may be considered as a strong, powerful even bravely representing movie; the movie director ‘Smael El Iraki’ did not hesitate nor bit his tongue to name things by the name. He did indeed speak about youth, using elements deconstructed from a young vision, without adhering to supervision nor censoring.

However, this is not enough when one is to measure its cinematographic and imaginative value. Considering the dramatic plot, the social, humanistic and pedagogic message; and the way main characters treats were drawn, this was closer to simplicity, naivety and utopia than to amazement, depth, and invention.

It seems that the movie maker was unable to create a story that breaks the expectation horizon and surpasses the standard melodrama.

In a glorious piece in which the protagonists move from wide-ranging trouble, disaster and social positions that broke their bones; with an exceptional effort, attempt to be glorified upon their failure by the end. Alas, this is what the movie may have represented in a very unconvincing manner, nor explained narratively in order to construct an example for future and current generations.

Rajae ‘Khanssa Batma’ and Larcen Snake ‘Ahmed Hamoud’ moved in a very strange way from the tip of being addicts and running away from a completely dangerous situation, to be in a serene and celebrated state where they
are artists (singers) considered by the public. This may not be the equal of ‘Charley Chaplin’ and his girlfriend in ‘Modern Times’; where the two hardly reach a ‘happy ending’ where freedom of speech, and horizons of liberation of the body and mind are all open, after surpassing a number of breaking points and menaces which were artistically demonstrated and represented.