Behind the Mountains
Oura el jbel
A downtrodden father literally takes flight from the strictures of society in this supernaturally tinged, Tunisia-set odyssey.
Fresh from a four-year stint in jail, the troubled Rafik abducts his young son Yassine and flees the city for the Atlas Mountains. With a history of mental illness and destructive outbursts, Rafik also has a more unusual gift at his disposal: he is, inexplicably, able to fly. After a taciturn shepherd witnesses this apparent superpower in action and throws his lot in with the father and child, the motley trio chance upon a remote homestead belonging to an upper-middle-class family – an incident that traps hostages and home invaders alike in an uneasy stand-off that carries surprising emotional consequences.
A slow-burn thriller set amid the breathtaking landscapes of rural Tunisia, the third feature from Mohamed Ben Attia (Dear Son, MIFF 2018; Hedi, MIFF 2016) lends a magical edge to his own deep-seated social-realist concerns. Boasting potent performances and as many twists and turns as the high-altitude roads that the characters traverse, Behind the Mountains examines kin, class dynamics and just how much faith we can place in the people around us.
“By turns edgy thriller and supernatural fantasy … A striking piece of filmmaking that lingers stubbornly in the mind.” – Screen Daily
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