Night Walk

A Moroccan-scented film that, at least, does something minimally satisfying.

When I decided to see this movie, I thought it was Moroccan. I haven't seen many Moroccan films, if any. However, when I went to read about it, I discovered that, despite the aroma, it is actually a very American film: directed and written by Aziz Tazi, a Moroccan who lives in California, it is overwhelmingly spoken in English and the actors are almost all Americans.

The film has a good story, but it has some problems. It begins with the meeting between Frank and Sarah, a young Moroccan girl. When romance begins to gain strength, she decides to take him to her country, to know the land and her family. However, a tragic incident occurs, in which the local police end up shooting Sarah. Charged with murder, Frank will serve time in the US. In prison, he goes on a journey of moral and spiritual rediscovery, hoping to prove his innocence and punish the culprits of his personal tragedy.

The script has some sugary moments, but I took it well. I had more difficulties with the non-linear narrative and flashbacks: I think the film dispensed the intensive use of this resource. But where I really believe the script failed was the sheer amount of illogical details: for example, Sarah's mother's house looks like a rich people's palace, her father never shows up, and never her mother, nor Sarah herself, wears the Islamic veil, although Islamic states usually impose it (or strongly recommend it). I also can't imagine where in the US you can have a prison with a Muslim population as relevant as the one in this film (except maybe Guantánamo). After all, there are very few practicing Muslims in the US.

The actors' work is satisfactory: Sean Stone and Sarah Alami have good chemistry together and work well as a romantic couple. They're not brilliant, but they do what it takes. The rest of the cast is not so good: I liked Laouni Mouhid and Ricco Ross, but I'm still not sure why Ivana Nguyen's cha...