Where the Wind Comes From 4 1/2 suns

From the country of Tunisia comes what I thought was one of the best films I’ve seen at the festival. Where the Wind Comes From is a sort of road trip movie featuring a pair of young friends on an event filled journey. Alyssa is 19, rebellious and tired of her boring life in Tunis and dreams of a better life away from her home. Mehdi, a 23 year old man is her close childhood friend, who is a talented amateur artist who has taught himself to draw. Alyssa learns of an art contest being held in a city across the country and sees it as a chance for the two of them to escape their boring lives in Tunisia and travel to Germany. She convinces Mehdi to enter and devises a rather haphazard plan to get to the contest which is tough since they have almost no money. Alyssa is a real risk taker, putting them in dangerous situations and it’s up to the calm and thoughtful Mehdi to keep things from getting out of control. There are some musical interludes that use animation as a way of showing Alyssa’s active imagination. The movie includes scenes that show the male dominated Arab culture and how this can be difficult for women. Generally, the movie is optimistic in tone and is about the relationship of close friends that have a shared interest. And it deals with African migration as those in tough economic conditions seek a better life. The two young actors portray their contrasting personalities, convincing us of the close friendship. The movie also features some beautiful Arabic music that was great to hear. The film is mostly in Arabic with some French. I am hoping that it wins some awards from Sundance and that it will be seen by a wider audience.