Rebate (2011)

Directed by: Jim Taihuttu, Victor Ponten | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Nasrdin Dchar, Marwan Chico Kenzari, Achmed Akkabi, Stéphane Caillard, Slimane Dazi, Mohamed Madj, Mohamed Benbrahim

‘Rabat’ is about three Moroccan/Tunisian-Dutch friends Nadir (Nasrdin Dchar), Abdel (Achmed Akkabi) and Zakaria (Marwan Chico Kenzari) who have to take an old taxi from Amsterdam to Rabat (Morocco) at short notice. Because one of them does not reveal the real purpose of the trip, their friendship and the business plans they have for their future together are thrown into quicksand. The taxi belongs to Nadir’s father and is a special gift. Due to all kinds of events along the way, their mutual relationship and their friendship for many years are put under considerable pressure. Especially in that part of the story the actors are in good shape and the film is believable. The integration problem is clearly incorporated in the storyline. This is done from a serious and optimistic undertone without being pedantic or falling into life-size clichés (which were not completely avoided for the sake of the story).

Humor is abundantly present, but it is easy to score with flat jokes and lame humor or the sex scenes that are so abundant in the Dutch film were avoided. The feeling of alienation has been incorporated in the developments in an amusing way. In his ‘secret’ mission, the protagonist asks himself emphatically whether he is actually on holiday or going home and does not know to which ‘culture’ and associated customs he actually belongs. On the road and in Morocco, however, they are clearly foreigners and are treated (and cheated) as tourists or otherwise. The storyline does not dig too deep in this typical road movie and the complications are partly predictable.

The characters that the actors Nasrdin Dchar, Chico Kenzari and Achmed Akkabi have to play are realistically portrayed. One the more serious person, the other the real macho and typical hooker/scroaker with the big mouth and the dreamer who always thinks about setting up a business with his friends, but does nothing for it and actually hides aggrieved behind fancy excuses and blame the evil outside world. The three protagonists play their roles convincingly. Will it be out/home together or will their old friendship not survive the storms and what lessons can they learn from this for their future?

The young directors Jim Taihuttu and Victor Ponten have already made a number of commercials, video clips and short films and documentaries in the Netherlands. ‘Rabat’ is their feature film debut. As a real low budget production, the film was shot in a short period of time and seems mainly aimed at a younger audience, who will certainly enjoy themselves with this. ‘Rabat’ is a sympathetic debut film that was made with limited resources and which certainly makes us curious about future productions of their hand.