Un fils (2019)

Directed by: Mehdi Barsaoui | 92 minutes | drama | Actors: Sami Bouajila, Najla Ben Abdallah, Youssef Khemiri, Noomen Hamda, Slah Msadek, Mohamed Ali Ben Jemaa, Qassine Rawane, Jihed Cherni, Nissaf Ben Hafsia, Karim Kefi, Laroussi Zbidi, Rim Chalbi, Jamila Camara, Amor Jmal, Mabrouk , Abdellatif Aloui, Tarek Belkherchine, Maram Ben Arbi, Hajer Fehri, Assem Bettouhami, Taher Radhouani, Achref Ben Youssef, Mohamed Ben Youssef

Father. Mother. Child. Love. The first scenes of ‘Un fils’ express such a warmth and security that you immediately embrace the members of the family. Aziz, the eleven-year-old son of Fares and Meriem, sits on his father’s lap in the car and is allowed to steer. Meriem looks tenderly at her two men. Love. The fragment flows seamlessly into the next scene, in which the intimacy is abruptly exchanged for bustle and conviviality.

Fares and Meriem meet a group of friends in a park or forest. Jokes are told, alcohol is consumed and a toast to life. Fares proudly announces that they have something to celebrate: Meriem has been promoted and will start a new position as HR manager on Monday. The family decides to spend the weekend in Tataouine. Sounds of social unrest seep through the car radio, this is Tunisia, just after the Jasmine Revolution in 2011. Although the couple reacts with concern to these oppressive messages, it does not seem to really affect them. It’s a far-from-my-bed show for them. This is literally represented by the hotel in which they spend the night, a luxurious stay where you actually seem to be in another world. The next day, in the car, Aziz asks his father to play his favorite song one more time. And then disaster strikes. A stray bullet hits Aziz in the stomach.

‘Un fils’ then follows Fares and Meriem in their most desperate period of their lives: Aziz is in mortal danger, his liver is badly damaged and the hospital staff are doing what they can. The powerlessness of the parents is very convincing, it is not without reason that Sami Bouajila (Fares) has won several prizes at film festivals. Najla Ben Abdallah also knows how to perfectly convey her inner struggle to the viewer. The earlier moment in the film – Fares reluctantly giving in to Aziz’s nagging in the car – captures exactly that contradiction that parents will recognize – you’ll do anything for your sick child to get better.

The screenplay is one of the strong points of this film; just when you think you know where the story is going, Mehdi Barsaoui comes up with a surprise. And even then the outcome remains unpredictable; you have no idea what these people will be like at the end of this movie. The story is family drama and political/social thriller rolled into one. This, in combination with the professional direction – unimaginable that this is Barsaoui’s first feature – means that ‘Un fils’ keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very nice.