Dir: Maryam Touzani
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui
122 mins

Hand-stitched with loving care, this mature, resonant drama is the latest from Touzani, writer-director of 2019’s Adam. It’s set in Moroccan town Salé, where Mina (Azabal) runs a small shop selling traditional caftans created by her husband, master tailor Halim (Saleh Bakri). Such an artisanal enterprise is bound to struggle in the modern world, and further complications arise when Halim, secretly gay, finds himself attracted to the shop’s new apprentice Youssef (Ayoub Missioui).

The Blue Caftan is an emotionally complex, richly empathetic depiction of a partnership sustained through storms and challenges, with Azabal and Bakri exuding a warm, gently crackling chemistry. Superb performances, sly humour, Virginie Surdej’s glowing photography and a strong throughline of social defiance make this a profoundly satisfying pleasure.

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