Weldi

Eine Kleinfamilie in Tunesien: Die Sorge gilt dem Sohn, der von Migräne geplagt seine Ausbildung vernachlässigt. Doch je stärker der Vater sich um ihn bemüht, umso mehr entgleitet dieser, bis es plötzlich heißt, er sei nach Syrien gereist. WELDI beginnt in nachtschwarzen Bildern und steigert sich zu einer arabischen Elegie, in der sich die Akteure mit jeder Strophe aufs Neue verfehlen. Ben Attias von somnambuler Schönheit geprägtes Familiendrama liest sich wie ein Kommentar über die grundlegende Entfremdung der Generationen: Auf welche gesellschaftlichen Fundamente werden heute Lebensstil, Werte und „Glück“ gebaut? Koproduziert von den Dardenne-Brüdern. (Gunnar Landsgesell)

A nuclear family in Tunisia: worried about the son, who is plagued by migraines and neglects his education. But the more attention the father lavishes on his son, the more the son slips away, until we hear that he has travelled to Syria. WELDI begins in night-black images and transforms into an Arab elegy in which the characters keep missing each other anew with every verse. Co-produced by the Dardenne brothers, WELDI combines a family drama of somnambulistic beauty with an intrinsic, spreading tragedy that ultimately spares no one. What is most puzzling about this film is how the two main characters are interweaved: The more the son fades away the more his father seems to take his place, following his footsteps. Half way through the film, WELDI reaches an almost oneiric quality, using images of mystic landscapes and deserted places. More than in the Jihadist phenomenon, Ben Attia is interested in the question of what is left behind. WELDI reads like a commentary on the fundamental alienation of generations: What are the social foundations that lifestyle, values and “happiness” are built on today? (Gunnar Landsgesell)