Egyptian director Mohamed Siam’s first narrative feature is an intense family drama. The helmer was previously behind the ambitious documentary Amal [+lee también:
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We are in Alexandria, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival during which sheep are slaughtered as a symbol of sacrifice in the Quran. It’s a metaphor that recurs in the dialogue, and its implications for the sacrifice of bonds are what lie at the heart of the film. An elderly widower, Omar (Kamel El Basha), returns home from hospital after six months in a coma, accompanied by his elder son Ali (Abed Anani), his favourite, who has a steady job and a family. Omar is entrusted to the care of his younger son, Farouk (Ahmed Malek), with whom he has a decidedly stormy relationship. After his mother’s death, the promising Farouk dropped out of pharmacy school, withdrew into himself, started taking drugs and even attempted suicide. His anger, frustration and grief over the loss of his mother have been taken out on his father. For his part, Omar blames his son for having squandered his life and accuses him of mismanaging the hunting-and-fishing shop he entrusted to him — which the young man uses as a place for dealing ketamine — and of seeing a girl whom the old man bluntly calls “a whore”.

The next morning, the old man is found dead. The film then rewinds the tape to show us what happened in the previous 24 hours. What unfolds, essentially within the rooms of the old home, like a stage play, is a kind of duel, with brief digressions in which Farouk leaves to meet his “clients” or his girlfriend Sara (Mayan El Sayed), and finally a nocturnal drive across the city during which father and son clash. During this journey, traumatic memories resurface, accusations of having been an absent and violent father are levelled, and old secrets are revealed.

Siam — who studied film in Cairo, Paris and New York, and received international fellowships from the Sundance Institute, the CNC, the DFI and Final Cut in Venice — shows notable skill in his composition of space, with minimal camera movement, meticulous directorial choices and great sensitivity in guiding his two leads: Palestine's El Basha (Volpi Cup for Best Actor at Venice for The Insult [+lee también:
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Enveloped in Omar Abou Douma’s pastel colours, with light refracting through the drops of a constant rain that symbolises a need for purification, the pair deliver magnificent performances that probe the roots of conventional family values, lay bare the dynamics of domination exerted by the patriarchal system, explore the tensions and clashes between generations, and zoom in on the complex, painful path towards emotional and familial reconciliation. The screenplay by Ahmed Amer and the director does not seek distinctive character arcs or flashy turning points, but rather moves through the complexity of these familial feelings via subtle, gradual revelations and disenchanted dialogue laced with bitter irony. References to the country’s social situation are visible (Sara is a smart, free-spirited young woman, except that she has to cover herself up with the hijab and wipe the lipstick off her lips before returning home to the family that Farouk calls “fanatical”), but the intention is to make the tale paradigmatic, distilling all of the world’s filial tenderness into an old bottle of cologne (which is the film’s Arabic title). It’s no coincidence that the director dedicates the film “to all fathers”.

My Father's Scent was produced by ArtKhana (Egypt) in co-production with DUOfilm (Norway), B-retta Films (Sweden) and Arizona Films (France). Its international sales are handled by Film Clinic Indie Distribution.