Harka

It was approximately 11:30am on the 17th of December, 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi – better known to his friends as Basbousa – set himself on fire. He would die two weeks later in hospital. By then his desperate action would have inspired thousands to join the Tunisian revolution and contributed to the broader movemnent which became known as the Arab Spring. Major political changes have occurred in his country since – for good or ill – but the poverty which appears to have motivated him is still widespread. The world at large continues to turn a blind eye to such suffering.

One man who took notice of Basbousa’s act was US filmmaker Lotfy Nathan, who was inspired to explore that kind of poverty and the despair it causes in this film. Here we follow Ali (Adam Bessa), who makes his living, as many people do, by selling gasoline without a permit. He dreams of a better life in Europe, though he’s warned that people are just as miserable there. Young, smart and ambitious, he’s unwilling to accept the prevailing wisdom that it’s better to accept one’s lot. Hearing stories in the media about Tunisians who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in small boats, his youngest sister worries about what he might do, dreams about him drowning.

Things come to a head when his ailing father finally succumbs to illness, leaving the family with significant debts. That younger sister is still a child; the older one can barely bring in enough money to feed them. Anxious to protect them, Ali tries everything to find a job. Many of the people he meets are sympathetic but simply unable to help him. Others point out bitterly that everyone has problems. Then there are those with wealth and power who simply will not deign to talk to him, living a separate life behind walls and gates and guards.

There is a story they tell in the region, delivered to us as the film opens. They say that in the barrenness of the nearby desert, a lake once appeared overnight, seemingly miraculous. People were delighted and loved to swim in it. Later, they learned that it was full of run-off from a phosphate mine. The water turned black. Hope is present here, but events always seem to take a turn for the worse.

Despite the grinding pressure of such poverty, Nathan has succeeded in creating a film which is full of incident and personality, vibrant and alive. There are good performances all round, but Bessa is mesmerising. Intense and vital throughout, Ali is never a stereotypical victim but always someone alert to what’s going on around him, striving to take control of his fate. This not only makes the film an involving experience but serves as a warning – if a man like this cannot find justice, what hope is there for anyone else?

Fiercely lambasting the socio-economic system in a way which people all around the world will relate to, Harka, which screened as part of the 2023 Glasgow Film Festival, is a cri de cœur on behalf of all those from who hope has been stolen. The bleakness of its final shot suggests that Nathan holds out little of his own, but this is a film which deserves to be noticed.