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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 19.Jun.25

Red Path
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

MUST SEE

dir Lotfi Achour
scr Natacha de Pontchara
prd Anissa Daoud, Sebastien Hussenot, Lotfi Achour
with Ali Helali, Yassine Samouni, Wided Dabebi, Younes Naouar, Latifa Gafsi, Jemii Lamari, Salha Nasraoui, Mounir Khazri, Noureddine Hamami, Eya Bouteraa, Rayen Karoui, Sana Ben Med Jabaalah
release Tun 23.Apr.25,
US Apr.25 sfiff, UK 20.Jun.25
24/Tunisia 1h41

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Based on a true story, this Tunisian drama is infused with honest horror and emotion as seen through the eyes of a young teen. Beautifully photographed by Wojciech Staron and directed by Lotfi Achour, scenes finely observe both the local culture and universal feelings about justice and grief. This is a bold, beefy story that is packed with riveting events and interactions. And its warm undercurrent is hugely engaging.

Heading into the mountains, 13-year-old Achraf (Helali) is tending to a flock of goats with his older teen cousin Nizar (Samouni). As they pause for lunch and some playful antics, they're suddenly attacked by terrorists who murder Nizar and tell the badly shaken Achraf to take his head home as a warning. Arriving in the village, Achraf tells Nizar's girlfriend Rahma (Dabebi) before taking the news home. The family wants to retrieve his body, although Achraf's mother (Nasraoui) understandably doesn't want him go back up there. Still, he leads the men back to the spot.

In the opening scenes with Nizar, Achraf comments that he's further from home than he's ever been. Soon this is far more true than he can understand, and he relives the fateful moments over and over, seeing Nizar everywhere around him, including in his haunting dreams. So heading back up into the mountains rattles him deeply, especially as events continue to unfold. Through all of this, the sense of grief for each member of this family is revealed with unusual nuance.

Young Helali is superb as a boy whose life is sent spiralling in an incomprehensible direction. We vividly see the shock set in, fear followed by bewildering disbelief and a striking sense of internal resolve. This is a full-bodied performance that takes the audience on an intensely powerful journey. His ongoing mind's-eye friendship with Samouni's charismatic Nizar has beautiful textures. And the people around Achraf are so earthy, complex and authentic that they can't help but bring everything to life.

Reacting to this situation, the family understands that the state will never find justice for Nizar. And they have no sympathy at all for whatever cause the killers are fighting for. These people just want to live their lives apart from the political problems of the region. But it's impossible to expect that they can remain untouched by these things. So the film works both as an account of a specific story and a much wider reminder.

themes, language, violence 19.Jun.25

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