Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Like last year's Kadosh, The Season Of Men reveals how women's lives can be brutally restricted in fundamentalist cultures, where female happiness is secondary to obedience to traditional patriarchal values.
On the Tunisian island of Djerba, families await the return of the menfolk, who've been working all year on the mainland. One of the women, Aicha (Rabia Ben Abdallah), gave up an education to marry Saïd (Ezzedine Gennoun), but is forbidden to join him in the city until she produces a male heir. Years later, Aicha returns to Djerba, triggering harsh memories...
Writer-director Moufida Tlatli (The Silences Of The Palace) shifts, sometimes confusingly, between past and present, stressing how emotional trauma is passed down between generations. Shot in contemplative takes, this solemn film manages to offer a hint of optimism in its low-key resolution.
