The movie
Mediterranean Fever
This skewed comedic thriller focuses on Waleed, an aspiring but depressed writer living in Haifa, who develops an unlikely and frazzled friendship with his neighbour, Jalal, a smalltime crook. But Waleed has ulterior motives…
Length: 108 min
Country: Cyprus, Duitsland, Frankrijk, Palestina
Language spoken: Arabic
Language subtitles: English
Cast: Amer Hlehel, Ashraf Farah, Anat Hadid, Samir Elias, Cynthia Saleem
Director: Maha Haj
Release date: 17/10/2023
Description
These screenings are with English subtitles
Winner of the Best Screenplay award in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last year, Maha Haj’s skewed comedic thriller focuses on Waleed (Amer Hlehel), a 40-year-old aspiring but depressed writer living in Haifa with his wife and kids, who develops an unlikely and frazzled friendship with his neighbour Jalal (George Clooney lookalike, Ashraf Farah), a smalltime crook. But Waleed has ulterior motives in forming the friendship, motives that lead the two on a dark, twisted, and occasionally very funny journey…
‘There’s no doubt that this enhances Haj’s reputation as a wry observer of contemporary Middle Eastern mores… [She] builds the story up with small jenga blocks of humour and well-observed vignettes, so soft and gentle that it’s barely noticeable when the tower starts to teeter with dread as the stakes get higher and the threat of violence more distinct.’—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
Winner of the Best Screenplay award in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last year, Maha Haj’s skewed comedic thriller focuses on Waleed (Amer Hlehel), a 40-year-old aspiring but depressed writer living in Haifa with his wife and kids, who develops an unlikely and frazzled friendship with his neighbour Jalal (George Clooney lookalike, Ashraf Farah), a smalltime crook. But Waleed has ulterior motives in forming the friendship, motives that lead the two on a dark, twisted, and occasionally very funny journey…
‘There’s no doubt that this enhances Haj’s reputation as a wry observer of contemporary Middle Eastern mores… [She] builds the story up with small jenga blocks of humour and well-observed vignettes, so soft and gentle that it’s barely noticeable when the tower starts to teeter with dread as the stakes get higher and the threat of violence more distinct.’—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
