‘Fatima’: A Muslim single mom in France helps her daughters assimilate without learning French
‘Fatima’ was the name of an apparition that appeared in Portugal (I visited the site in 2001), but it’s also the name of a film (2015 79 minutes), and of its central matronly character, directed by Morroco-born Philippe Faucon.
Fatima (Soria Zeroual) works as a housekeeper for various rich clients, and has raised her two daughters Souad (Kenza Noah Aiiche) and Nesrine (Zita Nanrot), after emigrating from Algeria and then losing her husband (Chawki Amari) to another woman. Fatima speeks Arabic but little French, as her work keeps her from having time to learn. The two daughters have learned French but remember little Arabic. Souad, 15, is somewhat spoiled, but Nesrine is struggling through her first year of med school. Much of the film works up toward a climax where she takes a final multiple-choice exam.
At a critical point of no return (55 minutes), Fatima slips and falls down a stairway. She recovers physically but doesn’t want to go back to work. She writes a diary in Arabic (I thought of the poems in “Paterson”) where she explains how the well-off depend on ‘some Fatima’ to keep their lives together. This is all about karma, which Islam (at its best) can become very concerned with.
The DVD has a 22-minute interview with the director, who also mentions his 2011 film “The Disintegration”, about the inability of three young Muslim men to assimilate into French society and their drifting toward terrorism – all years before the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels.
The music score contains some excerpt from the Schubert F# Minor sonata.
Name: ‘Fatima’
Director, writer: Philippe Faucon
Released: 2016
Format: 1.85:1 in French and Arabic, subtitles
When and how viewed: Netflix DVD
Length: 79 (22 minute director’s interview)
Rating: NA
Companies: Kino Lorber
Link: official
(Posted: Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 11 PM EDT)