HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Black Modern Romance
Year: 2015
Director: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
Stars: Martha Canga Antonio, Aboubakr Bensaihi, Sanâa Alaoui, Jérémy Zagba, Sanaa Bourasse, Natascha Boyamba, Soufiane Chilah, Brahim El Abdouni, Simon Frey, Faysel Ichakarene, Théo Kabeya, Eric Kabongo, Glody Lombi, Axel Masudi, Laetitia Nouhhaïdi, Ashley Nitan
Genre: Drama, Thriller, RomanceBuy from Amazon
Rating:  5 (from 1 vote)
Review: Marwan (Aboubakr Bensaihi) is a teenage gang member who hangs out with his Moroccan peers and elders, getting along with them because he is willing to commit petty crimes and pass the proceeds on to them, as today, when he steals a woman's handbag from her car when she is stopped in traffic. The local police, who every gang hates in the city of Brussels, are always taking an interest and checking up on youths like him, with some more compassionate than others, such as Mina (Sanâa Alaoui), who knows very well the crimes Marwan is involved in but seems powerless to prevent him digging himself in deeper to this life of lawbreaking. But if there's one thing the gangs hate more than the cops, it's the other gangs...

That's why when we are introduced to Mavela (Martha Canga Antonio) we sense trouble in the air, not only because we start off seeing her at her worst as well. She is member of a rival gang, black African this time as opposed to the more Arabic gang that Marwan belongs to, and she is picked up by the police for shoplifting which as coincidence would have it sees her taken to the same station as Marwan, where they meet. They exchange pleasantries as they wait in the corridor, well, actually they exchange insults which pass for pleasantries for just about everyone here poses as aggressively as possible, and something between them clicks, leaving him to give her his phone number: an invitation to meet.

In secret, of course, as if they were found out by the other respective gang members they would be subjected to all sorts of violent retribution, not because they have insulted or attacked anyone, but the opposite, they fell in love. It was indicative of this toxic world directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Falah depicted that actually being nice to somebody was regarded as the worst kind of behaviour in their little strata of society, as alternatively beating someone up, or going even further in your violence, was the honourable thing to do and rewarded with respect from your gang. That the directors had researched this milieu beforehand led you to believe it was fairly accurate, and that was a problem.

The basic plot was lifted from that design classic Romeo and Juliet as you may have gathered, though not stylised as the Baz Luhrman take on the tale was, though that too made the setting street gang culture, this was more realistic if not entirely averse to falling back on melodrama. Abel Ferrara's China Girl might be a more accurate comparison, though there were examples of updates of the Shakespeare play from all over the world, and they tended to set them in locations of urban violence too. No matter where it was, this was a story that never ended well, not with these trappings at least, which could at least prompt the characters to see the error of their ways and renounce the poisonous atmosphere of their culture, which was not something you saw much of in this case.

What were we left with? A grinding yarn of crushing dejection, as if there was any hope for these people, assuming they were based on real life individuals to whatever extent, then the directors failed to find any, or nothing worth mentioning at any rate. Look at the women and girls here, having to go along with the toughest demeanour possible to survive, but that doesn't stop the threat of rape, gang rape especially, hanging over their heads when they somehow transgress the code, or even have to pay the price for someone else's unwritten rule-breaking. It got so that aside from a couple of understanding authority figures that the only instance of anyone treating anyone else with kindness or decency was when Marwan and Mavela were alone together and could express their love without fear of recriminations hanging over them, though that fear was justified. It may have been well-made, but it was deeply difficult to enjoy, leaving you wondering how helpful this was to play out these based in truth stories when there was nothing to offer succour to those of us who wanted, well, not so much a happy ending, but the feeling that there was something positive being done to save these souls who resisted even the slightest assistance. Music by Hannes de Maeyer.

BLACK is released in UK cinemas & on VOD now.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 4165 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: