‘Behind The Palm Trees’ review: Formulaic Moroccan love triangle drama bolstered by strong performances

Dir: Meryem Benm’Barek. France/Morocco/Belgium/UK. 2025. 100mins

Selections and their penalties drive the drama of Meryem Benm’Barek’s second function, which focuses on younger Moroccan Mehdi (Driss Ramdi) and the impression of his social aspirations on his romantic entanglements. As with Benm’Barek’ debut Sofia (2019), about an single younger lady unexpectedly giving start, Behind The Palm Bushes gives commentary on class, equality and cultural expectations inside Morocco, whereas additionally setting its sights on the nation’s postcolonial relationship with France.

 Affords commentary on class, equality and cultural expectations

Sofia received the Finest Screenplay award in Cannes’ Un Sure Regard and whereas Benm’Barek’s follow-up – co-written with Fyzal Boulifa (The Damned Don’t Cry), Emma Benestan (Animale) and Agnès Feuvre – is extra formulaic, its sturdy performances ought to assist propel it across the pageant circuit after its world premiere in competitors at Marrakech. Francophone international locations are prone to be the strongest marketplace for distribution, though the movie’s frank nature may result in cuts forward of distribution in some MENA international locations,

Mehdi has a snug middle-class background, residing in Tangier together with his trainer mom (Soumaya Akaaboune) and father (Amine Ennaji), for whose constructing agency Mehdi works after failing to fulfil his architectural aspirations after faculty. The younger man’s chaste courtship of Selma (Nadia Kounda), who works within the native bakery, exhibits indicators of being taken to the following bodily stage thanks to speak of wedding ceremony bells – regardless of intercourse earlier than marriage being unlawful for Moroccan nationals. These early scenes are stuffed with the candy, heat chemistry of longing, and a montage during which their relationship develops by selfies and movies Selma shoots is breezily economical and immersive.

However when Mehdi meets Marie (Sara Gireaudeau), the daughter of a rich French couple whose home he and his father are engaged on within the kasbah, his head begins to show. Marie has a way more liberal angle to intercourse and, past that, she additionally gives Mehdi entry to different areas of her social sphere. Benm’Barek exhibits a eager consciousness of element, from the best way that Marie’s family has massive sums of prepared money laying in regards to the place to the household’s entitled angle in the direction of the employed assist and the swift vogue with which the welcoming facade in the direction of Mehdi begins to crack.

Marie is nearing 40 however has an air of arrested growth, apparently having fun with the liberty to do as she pleases with out incomes cash – as long as her dad and mom don’t disagree together with her decisions. Blind to her privilege, she tells Mehdi the primary purpose he isn’t getting the place he needs to be is as a result of he must “visualise” his success. As Mehdi tries to maintain his relationships with each girls on a fair keel, camerawork from Belgian cinematographer Son Doan – coming back from Sofia – additionally emphasises the completely different tenor of the encounters, with these shared with Selma having a hotter, extra romantic palette than the extra sexually express liaisons with Marie, that are shot in cooler hues.

The insidious attraction of social climbing is nicely articulated, however the relentless give attention to Mehdi and his actions implies that the feminine characters undergo. We discover out little or no about Selma past her dates with him, at the same time as we all know that his stringing her alongside is liable to finish in tears; the result’s that she turns into marginalised not simply by Mehdi’s actions, however the movie itself. Marie can be solely seen from Mehdi’s perspective, so there’s little indication of her internal life.

Whereas Benm’Barek generates stress because the lure Mehdi has made for himself slowly begins to shut, the predictability of the ultimate act works in opposition to it. The kinds of choices Mehdi makes could inevitably result in just one conclusion, however some more energizing screenplay decisions alongside the best way would have been welcome.