Weldi (2018)

Directed by: Mohamed Ben Attia | 104 minutes | drama | Actors: Taylan Mintas, Imen Cherif, Zakaria Ben Ayyed, Mohamed Dhrif, Mouna Mejri, Tahani Sadiki, Tarik Copty

The Tunisians seem to be doing well after the Arab Spring. Tunisia is the only country where the people tried to overthrow the dictatorship in the countries through uprisings in 2011, a democratic government has been established in Tunisia. Political turmoil continues, however, and Tunisia is reportedly at the same time as the country from which most young people go to IS training camps. What possesses such a young person, you wonder. ‘Weldi’ by Mohamed Ben Attia does not answer that.

Sami is nineteen years old. As an only child, he is pampered by his parents, who watch every step he takes with suspicion. Sami is just before his final exams and is thinking about training as a graphic designer. However, he suffers from migraines, his parents think it is due to stress because of the much studying, but Sami himself admits to being depressed. Father Riadh works as a crane operator and his retirement is approaching. Mother Nazli regularly works outside the city and then stays away for a few days. Almost every dime that comes in is used for Sami, for his medical costs, for his tutoring… But does Sami want all that attention?

With ‘Weldi’, Mohamed Ben Attia shows the side of Sami’s parents. When Sami disappears one day and left for Syria to join IS, we see the pain and devastation of these two poor, well-meaning people. Riadh and Nazli feel the same emotion, but react differently. While Riadh tries to do everything in his power to get his son back, Nazli seems to be resigned to it, though she is consumed with grief over the loss of the apple of her eye.

On the one hand, that focus on Sami’s parents is frustrating. We totally understand their feelings, because it makes sense that they didn’t see this coming. Sami never showed his plans. How would you as a parent react if your child makes such a radical decision, from which there is no turning back? ‘Weldi’ therefore seems a bit redundant, because the characters react exactly as you expect.

On the other hand, the filmmaker’s choice is completely defensible. In the recent ‘Le jeune Ahmed’ by the Dardenne brothers (who co-produce the title role of ‘Weldi’) we saw the point of view of a young person who radicalized, but you still didn’t understand the character. Like Sami’s parents, ‘Weldi’ also leaves you completely in the dark about their son’s motives. Their despair is therefore very understandable (but not surprising, as mentioned) and it is this compassion that makes this film win over ‘Le jeune Ahmed’.

‘Weldi’ says something between the lines about current society in Tunisia (for example, when Riadh bribes a police officer for not carrying insurance), but that is too fragmentary to make a real statement. You don’t have to, of course. What ‘Weldi’ mainly shows is that by no means all the stories surrounding the slide into jihadism have been told.