The String
Need Productions (2009)
Drama, Queer Themes/Interest, Romance
Not In Collection
#2152
6*
Seen ItYes
(05/17/2020 Dekkoo)
IMDB   6.7
90 mins France / French
Dekkoo 
Claudia Cardinale Sara
Antonin Stahly Viswanadhan Malik
Salim Kechiouche Bilal
Driss Ramdi Hakim
Ramla Ayari Siryne
Ali Mrabet Wassim
Abir Bennani Leïla
Rihab Mejri Wafa
Lotfi Dziri Abdelaziz
Hosni Khaled Moncef
Anissa B'Diri Aida
Djaouida Vaughan Frida
Nejia Zemni La grand-mère de Malik
Mohamed Graïaa Le fou de la plage
Hakim Boumsaoudi Le premier amant
Mehdi Ben Attia Le médecin
Ali Zaouche Youssef
Imen Cherif La chanteuse au marriage
Samia Rhaiem Raja
Mohamed Ali Cherif Habib
Mohammed Adel Ayadi Client religieux
Moncef Tebourbi Le père de Maya
Lilia Kriaa Maya
Béatrice Kriaa La mère de Maya
Neji Hassouna Le maire
Director
Mehdi Ben Attia
Producer Anne-Cécile Berthomeau
Edouard Mauriat
Writer Mehdi Ben Attia
Olivier Laneurie
Cinematography Sofian El Fani
Music Karol Beffa


Malik has a lot on his plate when he returns home to Tunisia after living in France. He's processing his father's death, he can't come out to his mother, and his childhood anxieties have resurfaced. But all of Malik's problems seem to fade away when he falls for Bilal, the dreamy houseboy at his mother's bourgeois estate.
Edition Details
Original Title Le Fil (lit. the thread)
No. of Discs/Tapes 1

Notes
Originally French "Le Fin" (lit "the thread). Does this have the same meaning as English phrase "apron strings." If you say that someone is tied to another person's apron strings, you mean that they are controlled or influenced too much by the other person. The String is both a story of weening and of coming of age. To me, the use of the string in the film is just too cute and sophomoric.
It is interesting to note that the story is set in Tunisia, often described as one of the more "progressive' Muslem states. However, queer Tunisians face both legal and social discrimination. Reports of family rejection, violence in public spaces, violence within families and suicides are quite common. [Wikipedia]. One wonders if the film's ultimate picture of social behaviors and "grudging" acceptance is more Mehdi Ben Attia's wishful thinking than reality - a feel good movie.
- 1/3 Review: CGiii [Anderson Cutler]
+ Review: Gay Celluloid [David Hall]
Wikipedia: "LGBT rights in Tunisia"