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143 rue du désert

143 Sahara Street
Hassen Ferhani
Algerien, F, Katar 2019
100 min
V'19

Wüstenstraße Nr. 143 – die Hausnummer ist natürlich erfunden, aber hier, an der Route nationale 1, die durch den algerischen Teil der Sahara führt, hat die resolute Malika ihren Laden: einen Quader aus Beton, an dem Fernfahrer und Reisende Station machen, um Kaffee zu trinken, Zigaretten zu rauchen, eine Kleinigkeit zu essen. Und natürlich, um sich zu unterhalten, auszutauschen über den Stand der Dinge und die Lage im Land. Und also hält in diesem umgedrehten Roadmovie die ganze Welt Einzug – in Reflexionen über religiösen Fanatismus, wirtschaftliche Krisen, Politisches wie Privates – und verdichtet sich an einem winzigen Ort im Wüsten-Nirgendwo zu wahrer Größe. (Alexandra Seitz)

 

143 RUE DU DESERT is a portrait of Malika, an elderly woman who runs a rest-stop café on the side of National 1, Algeria's main highway. Through the various patrons who stop for eggs, coffee or tea, we become intimately acquainted with this eccentric woman, whose opinions on a variety of subject matters entertain, enlighten, and baffle in equal measure. Most of the customers know her so well that we suspect they perhaps stop not for the tea, but for her company. The film almost never leaves the inside of her small café, which serves also as her home. However, with every new shot, Ferhani manages to reveal a new fragment of this minuscule space, which keeps the film surprisingly dynamic. Ferhani does not hold sway over Malika's representation, which is one of the most satisfying elements of the film. Malika seems aware of her character's cinematic construction, and even dares to contradict statements about her life from one moment to the next, in a scene that is as performative as any fiction. Even though the film provides us with real-time access to this woman's world, she retains a sense of privacy, which is the main source of the film’s mystery. (Nico Pereda)

Credits
  • Malika
  • Chawki Amari
  • Samir Elhakim
  • and the drivers of National 1 Road
  • Hassen Ferhani
  • Hassen Ferhani
  • Antoine Morin
  • Mohamed Ilyas Guetal
  • Nadia Ben Rachid
  • Hassen Ferhani
  • Stéphanie Sicard
  • Nina Khada
Allers Retours Films, Centrale Electrique, Doha Filminstitute

Narimane Mari

DCP
Farbe
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