The Unknown Saint

The Unknown Saint is a beautiful and cleverly humorous film that melds the vivid culture and tradition with contemporary socio-political issues in Morocco. This poignant Moroccan drama is directed and written by Alaa Eddine Aljem in 2019 and it scores high through its simplicity and irony.

The movie stars the talented Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, and Bouchaib Semmak. The film is in Arabic but it is easy to follow along with the help of subtitles. The Unknown Saint explores and integrates two different strands of life: one is the stark and tough mundane realities faced by the inhabitants of a small village and the other is the unexpected connection to the urban thief played eloquently by Younes Bouab.

The story initiates with a fast-paced heist that takes place in the bustling city. The protagonist, a thief skillfully performed by Younes Bouab, steals a significant amount of money and manages to flee far away from the city's chaos. In an attempt to evade arrest, he buries his stolen bounty in the middle of the desert before he gets arrested.

After completing his jail term, the thief returns to recoup his buried fortune but finds a monumental change in the barren desert landscape. The minimalist desert has now become a place of worship due to the erection of a mausoleum around the spot where the money was buried. The locals believe that a saint, unknown to them, is buried there, and it has become a holy place attracting worshippers from around the region. The thief is left with no option but to blend in with the local inhabitants and devise a plan to retrieve the loot.

The movie portrays the striking contrast between city life, represented by the thief, and the village community with their deeply ingrained faith and superstitious beliefs. The thief's attempts to recover his treasure without arousing suspicion create an atmosphere filled with suspense and provides the audience with a generous dose of humor. While there are no uproarious comedy sequences, the scenic, dry, and lateral humor is deeply embedded in situational irony.

The Unknown Saint expertly highlights the dichotomy of life and human morals through its diverse cast of characters. Salah Ben Saleh, an old man, plays the role of a cunning and manipulative businessman who exploits the villagers' simplistic and superstitious beliefs to his favor, all in the name of faith and tradition. Semmak Bouchaib's role as a vagabond with dreams of grandeur adds to the film's texture and undertones.

While the storyline allows the audience to explore various elements of human character, Aljem does not go overboard. He introduces just enough characters to maintain balance and keep the audience engaged all the way up to the climax.

The Unknown Saint also stands out due to its impressive visual appeal. The cinematography is outstanding, doing justice to the Moroccan landscape. The sweeping desert sequences offer an almost surreal background against which the drama unfolds.

Although this movie is set in a traditional Moroccan backdrop, its story and themes are universal. The film comments on human greed and the lengths people will go to amass wealth or uphold their stature. It encapsulates the power dynamics of a small community in a rural setting, portraying their susceptibility to manipulation and the impact of change on their conventional lives.

The Unknown Saint is a thought-provoking film that is sure to intrigue audiences with its fascinating mix of drama, subtle humor, and metaphoric content. It leaves you to contemplate social issues like faith versus reality, rural versus urban, traditions versus modernity, and belief systems heavily shrouded in superstition.

In conclusion, The Unknown Saint is a unique narrative that creatively spins a heist story into a cultural commentary. Its ability to beautifully depict both common human experiences and cultural peculiarities makes it an impactful watch. The film is an excellent blend of humor and thought-provoking content that has many layers to be explored.