The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Show reviews
    • Interviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
  • Music
    • Live music
    • Album reviews
    • Interviews
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
    • Fringe
    • Vault Festival
    • Interviews
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Interviews
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join the team
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Film festivals Cannes Film Festival 2022

Harka

Cannes Film Festival 2022: Harka | Review
19th May 2022
Avatar photo
Selina Sondermann
Avatar
Selina Sondermann
19 May 2022

Movie and show review

Selina Sondermann

Harka

★★★★★

Special event

Cannes Film Festival 2022

16th to 28th May 2022

Ali sleeps in an abandoned construction site, and barely gets by on selling contraband petrol. Each day the police come by, well aware of the black market operations, and collect some of his profits. He dreams of leaving Tunisia, but when he learns of his father’s passing, Ali makes himself responsible for the care of his younger sisters. Things go from bad to worse when the siblings suddenly face eviction from their family home. 

Written and directed by Lotfy Nathan in his fiction debut, Harka is a deep-cutting drama that dolorously illustrates the Sisyphean nature of trying to lift oneself out of poverty in a corrupt system. This Un Certain Regard title succeeds in particular because the viewer, confined to their seat, feels as powerless to intervene as Ali is in his attempts to make a significant change to his dire circumstances.

The American filmmaker’s previous documentary experience manifests itself in the naturalistic stylistic choices spanning across cinematography and production design all the way to the performances.

French lead Adam Bessa, whose next project Extraction 2 sees him star opposite Chris Hemsworth, surrenders himself to his character’s frustration – and scintillates. 

The photography largely taps into natural light, and is not afraid of an occasional lack thereof. One of the excellently executed nightly car scenes appears to be illuminated merely by the glow of a single cigarette. The visual language is strong enough to overcome the not entirely seamless editing.

This multinational production permeates realism right down to the last gritty detail: dirty clothing that actually looks like it has been worn for years, and nicotine-stained teeth (when in real-life the actor has pearly whites). One can almost smell the body odour of the characters through the screen. The symbiosis creates a convincing truthfulness.

However this commitment is also something that leaves a bitter aftertaste. Dedication to realism in film should not come at the expense of life – while the decision to include a scene in which Ali kills a chicken is a perfectly justified dramaturgical device to accentuate his hard-boiled manner, the fact that it is not simulated and the audience is made to watch the beheaded animal’s agonising last moments taints the feature unnecessarily.

★★★★★

Selina Sondermann

Harka does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2022 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.

Watch a clip from Harka here:

Related Itemscannes film festivalfilm festivalreview

More in Cannes

Hypnotic

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Perfect Days

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los Ojos)

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

Kennedy

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain)

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant)

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Fallen Leaves

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

“It felt natural to show the life that all women live”: Maxime Rappaz and Jeanne Balibar on Let Me Go

Selina Sondermann
Read More

The Mother of All Lies

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Selina Sondermann

Harka

★★★★★

Special event

Cannes Film Festival 2022

16th to 28th May 2022

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Your Christmas or Mine 2
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Earth Mama
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Anselm
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Wonka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Anselm
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Wonka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
  • Contact us
  • Join the team
  • Subscribe to the mailing list
  • Support us
  • Writing for The Upcoming

Copyright © 2011-2023 FL Media