WATCH: A bisexual love triangle unravels in the queer Moroccan drama ‘The Blue Caftan’
One of the more warmly received features at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is the stirring relationship drama The Blue Caftan, a story of love, grief, and queer desire from Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani.The Blue Caftan follows the story of married couple, Halim (Saleh Bakri, from The Band’s Visit) and Mina (Lubna Azabal, known for her work in Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies) who run a traditional caftan shop in one of Morocco’s oldest city centers, where Halim carefully hand-sews garments for demanding clientele.
To keep up with the work, the pair hires a handsome young apprentice, Youssef (Ayoub Messioui), and it’s not long before he and Halim find themselves making longing glances at one another from across the room.Pulling at the threads of this mutual affection naturally causes some snags in Halim and Mina’s relationship, further complicated by Mina’s declining health.
The Blue Caftan is a tender and heart-wrenching examination of this complex relationship triangle, spinning a moving queer narrative in the process.Writer-director Touzani is no stranger to Cannes.
