Event description
Hamid, a political prisoner who escaped from war-torn Syria, has lost everything - his wife, child and home. All he seems to have left is an endless desire for justice and scars, both in body and soul. Like a ghost, the former literature professor wanders around Strasbourg in search of Sami Hana, the war criminal who tortured him. Haunted by the shadows of his past, Hamid begins to follow a compatriot he meets at a French university. As a tense game of cat and mouse ensues, Hamid becomes more and more convinced that it was this nice man who tortured him and tries to identify him by voice and smell.
Based on true events, Jonathan Millet's feature debut takes your breath away from the first seconds. Sparkling suspense is intertwined with moral dilemmas, social and political issues, while the magnetic performance of Adam Bessa (winner of the 2022 Cannes Special Mention for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Harka) and the mystical soundtrack draw you in. Without letting up for a moment, Millet addresses questions that are relevant not only to an entire generation of Syrians, but to all of us: how to maintain the purity of the soul even in the face of humanity's darkest moments?
This film is part of the PURE FORCE programme
The films in this programme are about people with open and sensitive souls. They may be overlooked, but they are the real heroes of everyday life. They are haunted by the traumatic effects of war, they are called "different", but they are the great humanitarians who are able to see in others, even if only a sliver, of humanity. These sensitive films are made by young directors who are pure souls untainted by the film industry.
Translated by Laimonas Vaičius.