Denver Film Festival Review: ‘The Blue Caftan’
“Halim. Don’t be afraid to love.”
The Blue Caftan is a new movie featured at the 45th Denver Film Festival as part of the festival’s CinemaQ program, presenting the best in LGBTQ cinema from around the world. Chosen to represent Morocco in the 2023 Academy Awards, shortlist in the International Feature Film category, The Blue Caftan is a remarkably gentle approach to self-discovery from director Maryam Touzani, who wrote the film with her husband, Nabil Ayouch.
Set in the historical medina of Salé, Morocco, Halim (Saleh Bakri), and Mina (Lubna Azabal) run a caftan store catered to the locals who have frequented the shops around the medina for generations. Halim inherited the store from his father and attempts to carefully craft works of art through threads and needles as his father did before him. Not able to keep up with the demand of his flawless creations, Halim and his wife Mina hire a young apprentice named Youssef (Ayoub Missioui) to help run the store and learn the art of embroidery firsthand.
But Halim carries around with him a deep-seated secret: He is a closeted gay man in a community that would shun him if they knew his truth. As the days go on while training Youssef, the two men develop a spark of interest in one another that slowly bubbles to the surface. Mina, sick with cancer, gradually realizes that her husband might have other interests beyond their marriage and caftans. A considerate and tender man, Halim tackles his life with Mina like he does his work, with gentle hands and a heart of gold. However, his secret life begins to catch up with him as Mina falls ill with cancer, and their marriage enters a breaking point.
There are moments in The Blue Caftan that ring true for anyone that has loved another person knowing their true self isn’t being expressed within that love. Halim and Mina have a strong friendship outside of attraction, as they joke around with each other and are mainly on the same page regarding their store’s needs. Halim loves Mina with all of his heart, even though his empathy for her is shrouded in complexity as he falls in love with Youssef.
Director Maryam Touzani shines brightest by not showcasing knock-out fights or screaming matches between her two leads. Instead, The Blue Caftan is an understated peek into the definitions of change, as Youssef becomes a third family member with his kind intentions that transition into noble efforts. Touzani is careful not to show Halim insulting his wife of many years, always considering her point of view and the illness that consumes her. For all of her struggles and confines as a woman trapped in a marriage of convenience, Mina is sympathetic to her core and caters to her husband’s true feelings.
Filmed in Arabic, The Blue Caftan is a winning achievement from varying perspectives of unconditional love and the need for closeness. The film does a splendid job of examining the struggles of Halim’s inner demons, showing his willingness to have sexual experiences with men while not leaning in on its salacious tone. Bakri’s performance is magnificent, with subtle glances that tell the audience his eyes are doing all of the talking with no need for dialogue to reflect delicate and sad moments. Halim is not a man who simply falls for another man by accident. Everyone involved knows the pressures of the community around them, and they choose as a group to go against the grain in moments of vulnerability.
The Blue Caftan is currently making its way through the 2022 film festival slate.
Photos courtesy of Strand Releasing
