Tunisia submitted relatively few submissions for the International Academy Award, but thanks to director Kaouther Ben Hania, the country recently received a nomination for The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) and a place on the shortlist for Four Girls. (2023). This year’s submission, Take My Breath, comes from another director, Nada Mazni Hafeez, but it did not make the shortlist. This beautifully and engagingly filmed melodrama follows the plight of an intersex person living as a woman until her secret is betrayed. Unfortunately, the well-intentioned screenplay by Hafeez and Pascal Goss centers on a slew of social issues (police corruption, violence against women, sex trafficking, illegal immigration) that overshadow the central story.
Shams (Amina Bensmail, thin and androgynous-looking), a talented 23-year-old seamstress, is very popular in her small island community. She lives with and supports her bitter mother Fadela (Fatima Saidin) and her wheelchair-using sister. Her quiet efficiency and natural beauty attract the attention of engineer and senior fisherman Habib (former model and TV star Mohamed Murad), who wants to marry her. Meanwhile, she is being watched by the neighborhood thug Abdel Khaleq (Ayman Ben Hamida), the abusive husband of her friend Naima (Sana Ben Sheikh Al Arabi).
The film’s opening moments are very calm and natural, highlighting the beauty of the island and the gentle attraction between Shams and Habib, making it a bit surprising when events take a theatrical turn. But it is clear from the beginning that Shams has a secret that she cannot share with Habib, other than stuttering: “I am not like other girls.” But without any introductions, it becomes clear that Naima knows what Shams is hiding, and that the two women share a secret passion.
Once her secret is revealed, Shams is forced to flee the island to Tunisia before her neighbors, who fear what they do not understand, turn against her. She turns to Tawfiq (Mohamed Dahesh), the Sufi son of the Jazira sage Abd al-Rahman (Fathi Akkari), and tries to determine what gender identity she will use moving forward.
Although it offers partial insight into the challenges facing an intersex person like Shams, whose mother was so ashamed that her child had two penises that she failed to register the birth, the film continually escalates into less believable soap opera-like subplots. It leaves us longing for more information about Shams’s condition. Even when Shams makes some silly and dangerous mistakes while trying to get a job, the Sufi teachings of Tawfiq and his father add positive lessons of love and compassion that help Shams become more stable and confident.
The film marks the third feature film by director Hafeez, whose works (both fiction and documentary) share an interest in marginalized communities and female sexuality. While the scenario does include some taboo topics, it only makes sense to suggest anything pathetic rather than show it.
“Nafs” toured the festival circuit last year before its successful theatrical opening in Tunisia in November 2023. Aside from the handsome leads Ben Ismail and Mourad, the film’s biggest asset is the stunning camerawork of Mohamed El-Maqraoui, who is particularly attuned to light and camerawork. water.