Thief of Dreams

(SAREK EL-AHLAM) ((MOROCCAN))

By DEBORAH YOUNG

An MPS production. Produced by Sarim Fassi Fihri. Directed, written by Hakim Noury.
 

Reviewed at Carthage Film Days (competing), Tunis, Oct. 14, 1996. Running time: 95 MIN.

Driss ... Rachid Fekh

Mehdi ... Rachid Fakkak

Naima ... Fatima Khair

Acurious Moroccan film about friendship, "Thief of Dreams" has a genuinely naive quality rarely seen in festival fare. But hackneyed script and lensing style will limit its appeal to the local market and a few specialized events.

Script by director Hakim Noury (longtime producer for filmmaker Souheil Ben Barka) centers on Mehdi (Rachid Fakkak), a businessman who has made a mistake, gone to prison, and paid his debt to society. Now a scrupulously honest (albeit penniless) fellow, he lives on the street washing car windshields until he meets and moves in with a young, happy-go-lucky thief, Driss (Rachid Fekh). A deep friendship based on mutual acceptance blossoms between them.

Their paths then diverge: Delighted by Mehdi's honesty, a kindly baker offers to let him run his business; Driss, meanwhile, becomes a drunkard after his mother dies. The friends quarrel and separate, until Naima (Fatima Khair), the girl they both love, symbolically reunites them.

Almost a parable out of the Koran or the Bible, the story has the elemental purity of a folk tale. But without a touch of irony or humor, and weighted down by a deadbeat cast, it fails to ignite. Tech credits are acceptable.

Camera (color), Girolamo Larosa; editor, Allal Sahbi; music, Moncef Adyel; sound, Fawzi Thabat.