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Loin (film)

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Wikipedia article




' Loin ' is a 2001 French-Spanish drama film directed by Andr Tchin, starring Stephane Rideau, Lubna Azabal and Mohamed Hamaidi. The film, set in Tangier in a three-day period, tells the story of three young friends making critical decisions about their uncertain future.

Plot



For the past few years, Serge, a young French man, has been working as a long-distance truck driver, employed by a company that ships goods from Morocco to Europe. His job gives him plenty of time for reflection and boredom. In Algeciras, ready to make his next trip to Africa, Serge succumbs to the criminal subculture, dangerously agreeing to smuggle hashish from Morocco to Europe by hiding the illegal drugs in his truck.

This time, the Moroccan stopover between transports of cargoes will last three days. In Tangier, while he waits for his truck to be loaded and pass customs, Serge is reunited with his friend Sad. Sad, a young Moroccan whose only possession is his bicycle, desperately seeks to escape his restrictive background and avidly longs for the possibility and intrigue of life beyond Africa, but he has attempted his illegal immigration many times before with dire consequences. Serge, who is eager to see his on and off girlfriend Sara, Sads friend and employer, strikes a deal with Sad. If Sad can convince Sarah to see him again, Serge promises to smuggle Sad to Europe.

Sad takes Serge to see his and Saras friends: Jack, a gay American migr living happily in Morocco, and Franois, a young film director preparing a documentary on illegal immigration. Franois and Serge went to the same school eight years ago. Sad entices Sara to go out that night in order to prepare and encounter Serge. When she first sees Serge again she runs away, but ultimately she yields and they get back together. Sara, a beautiful, independent young Jewish woman mourning her recently dead mother, operates a small hotel where Sad works. She is in a dilemma of her own. Her successful brother, a Canadian migr, wants her to leave Morocco and join him in Montreal. She agonizes over the decision, unsure about emigrating. Serge's return and their complicated relationship only make it harder to make a decision. Emily, Saras sister-in-law, a writer who recently has lost a son, arrives to help her close the hotel and resettle in Canada. The closing of the hotel leaves Sad without a job and intensifies his need to try and get to Europe. However, Serge backs off with his part of the plan to take Sad in his truck to Spain. Angry, Sad breaks his friendship with Serge and tries to turn Sarah against Serge.

With the money that Sarah gives Sad for the loss of his job, he goes to a seedy neighborhood with Franois, who is attracted to Sad. While trying to change the local currency to pesetas, he is robbed and loses his bicycle in the process. In contrast to Sarah and Sad, their friend Farida, an independent optician who has recently divorced her husband, is very attached to Morocco and would never consider emigrating. The group of friends has a picnic, during which Farida has to be rushed to the hospital to give birth. The party of friends invited by Franois goes to see Jean Renoirs The River. In the end, Serge ends up empty-handed; he neither gets any money from his attempt at smuggling drugs nor does he have certainty in his relationship with Sara, who still can't make up her mind to either leave or stay in Tangier. Sad, with little to lose, goes to the port and hides beneath Serges truck. He is found by Serge, who sneaks him inside the trucks cabin. Together they continue on the road to Europe.

Cast



*Stphane Rideau as Serge

*Lubna Azabal as Sara

*Mohamed Hamaidi as Sad

*Gal Morel as Franois

*Jack Taylor as James

* Yasmina Reza as Emily

*Rachida Brakni as Nezha

* Nabila Baraka as Farida

Analysis



'Loin' was shot on digital video using primarily natural light. The slightly patchy video image contributes to the sense of collapse and unease. The film is set in Tangier and is told in three "movements"; the sections marked by chapters. Tchin renders the confusion and desperation occasioned by the three leads personal dilemmas into a larger canvas of cultural dislocation, identity and friendship.

In moving between the stories of his three principal actors, Tchin establishes both an emotional immediacy and painful confusion that captures the intensity of feeling between them, addressing some of the director's trademark themes: family relations, irreconcilable sexual entanglements and the allure of criminal activity. Tchin, examines the relationships between these three very independent twenty something, showing how their various desires in life conflict because of citizenship, employment, class differences, as well as personal outlook

The film generally concerns Moroccans with various relationships with the country: visiting staying, leaving and contemplating. Techin's captures the complexity of the emotions that join his star-crossed lovers. He balances their love story against the serious backdrop of smuggling and immigration.

DVD release



'Loin' is available in Region 2 DVD. Audio in French and dubbed Spanish. Spanish subtitles. There is no Region 1 DVD available.

Notes



References



*Marshall, Bill, 'Andr Tchin', Manchester University Press, 2007,


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