In Marrakech, Leila, the house keeper and friend of the the dying Madame Isabelle, keeps her house running. She flirts with with the gardner and generally just gets along. When her sister arrives to ask for money her life is upended.
This film absolutely delighted me. An absolute unexpected joy, I went into the film knowing nothing about it other than the title. It became one of the few films of the fall festival season where I fell under its power and never looked at my watch, and was saddened when it ended.
That the film works is due to the cast, headed by Nisrin Erradi and Fanny Ardant. There is an ease and a love between the women that makes you feel that there is a long history between them. You understand how they can lean into each other, Leila about the son she was force to give up and Isabelle about her illness and the daughter with whom she can't commincate. There are oceans of feelings between them and its all on the screen pulling us deeper into the story.
For me the film is nearly perfect. I took almost no notes while watching it. My only quibble is that Leila's sister shows up about five minutes into the film to ask for money. There is nothing wrong with it as such, but it is much too early in the film since we don't really know the characters yet so we have no idea how or why its up setting. While we get up to speed later in the film, it would have has a bigger impact if it happened a few minutes later.
But that is a quibble, since this film is joyous and lovely and one of the most wonderful cinematic experiences I've had this year.
Highly recommended, this small cinematic gem will live in your heart.
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