Cinema
شمس الربيع
Latif Lahlou · 1969
Synopsis
A minor civil servant of peasant origin leads an oppressive, monotonous office life in Casablanca. He would like to gain a foothold in the big city and meet what is expected of him, to rise in his career and in society, but he runs into countless obstacles, and love smiles on him no more. The harder he tries to adapt, the more isolated he feels, and he loses the taste for life.
Context
Produced by the Moroccan Cinema Centre, the film is its director's first feature, after years of documentaries; the dialogue is by him and Abdelkrim Ghallab, the cinematography by Mohamed Sekkat. Le360 sees in it a work steeped in social realism. Restored in 4K by the Moroccan Cinematheque, despite reels affected by vinegar syndrome, it was screened in 2023 in Tangier during the tribute paid to its director, then shown the same year at the Arsenal in Berlin, in the original version with subtitles.
Who it is for
Ninety minutes in black and white, in Arabic; visible again in a restored version since 2023.
Prizes and reception
The fiction debut of a veteran of Moroccan cinema; the film was saved from deterioration by a digital restoration in 2023.
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