Cannes Review: Lotfy Nathan’s ‘Harka’

deadline.com:

A young man struggles to provide for his family in Harka, Lotfy Nathan’s debut feature screening in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

Set in Tunisia, it’s a quietly absorbing portrait of one man’s life in the wake of his father’s death. Ali (Adam Bessa) hasn’t seen his family for a while but is suddenly left in charge of his two younger sisters.

Ali sells gas on the streets without a license, and either hides the money he makes or boozes it away. Now, he’s expected to step up and lead a family, even though noone seems to think he’s suited for the job.

This is a world where decisions are made out of desperation — and this will be the first of many. Ali is visibly out of place in the family home, where his sisters lead a quiet and studious life — he even opts to sleep outside the house on the street.