'The blue caftan': the taboo of homosexuality in Morocco exposed

The debut three years ago of the Tangerine director Maryam Touzani already announced a suggestive look capable of wisely delving into the hidden realities of her country, Morocco.

If

revolved around the stigma of being a single mother in a retrograde society through three characters, a young pregnant woman, a widow and her daughter, Touzani's new film, The Blue Caftan, addresses homosexuality, latent and secret in

same society, also through three characters and with the same sensitivity and intelligence as his previous film.

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orphans and mothers

The stupendous actress Lubna Azabal is once again the focus of a conflict outside her body, but not her gaze.

If in

her character ran a pastry shop with bitterness, now she is the owner of a clothing and fabric store in which her husband and a young assistant make precious kaftans with care.

Touzani dwells on the artisan tasks, the embroidery and the delicate and noble male hands that sew this typical North African clothing while her wife is dedicated to showing her face in the trade.

The routine of the small tailor shop hides a reality that is not talked about but that is present in every shot, the homosexuality of a good and affectionate husband who establishes another type of complicity and affection with a woman cornered by a disease that neither is spoken.

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But

is above all the story of a silent love triangle, an elegant melodrama that breathes love for its three characters, which observes their lives through objects and rituals, plates of food, fruit and golden threads.

Customs and traditions that slip like music out the window without falling into the postcard, but with a deep and respectful knowledge of the society it portrays.

The blue caftan

Director:

Maryam Touzani.

Cast:

Saleh Bakri, Lubna Azabal, Ayoub Messioui.

Genre:

drama.

Morocco, 2022.

Duration:

122 minutes.

Premiere: March 10.

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