Sandstorm (1982) [N/A]
Featuring:
Nadir Benguedih, Himoud Brahimi, Hadja
Written by:
Yamina Bachir
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
Directed by:
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
Release Date:
April 4, 1982
Original Title:
Vent De Sable
Alternate Titles:
Rih Al-Raml
رياح رملية
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Office National pour le Commerce et l'Industrie Cinématographique (ONCIC)
Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne (RTA)
Production Countries:
Algeria
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 103
Seen right through the sandstorms that rack the lives of a tribe living on a desert oasis, is a subtle and not-so-subtle mistreatment of the female members of the tribe - tribal chiefs have the right to be the first to deflower virgins, and single or widowed mothers must walk a narrow line of behavior restrictions that do not apply to their male counterparts. Both genders, however, fight the brunt of the harsh desert winds together.
A palm grove at the bottom of a sand cone. Five days a week, the simoun blows, turns into a storm and ravages everything in its path. The main activity of the inhabitants of the palm grove consists of repairing the damage and repeating the same age-old gestures to clear the sand, that is to say to survive. The only person who no longer participates in this activity is Abbas, the blind man. A sort of prophet, he periodically reminds the men of the fatality and the inanity of this struggle against the elements. And the handful of sand that he throws like a challenge in the sky announces each time a new storm. Among the inhabitants, two brothers, Amara, the eldest and M'Hamed. Amara's wife gives birth to an eighth daughter and this birth will trigger a drama. The man can no longer bear the curse that the arrival of this eighth girl symbolizes in his eyes and in the eyes of all. For him, eight little girls, beautiful and healthy, cannot make him forget the misfortune of not having a son. A son, even a crippled one, like that of his brother and sister-in-law, Roguia, is more valuable than all his eight daughters. This new disappointment leaves him bitter and full of jealousy. After having beaten and repudiated his wife, he will turn this jealousy against his sister-in-law, whose beauty exerts on him a hatred mixed with attraction. The arrival of the troubadour Hafnaoui, who travels from palm grove to palm grove to dispense hope and poems, will allow him to carry out a terrible and useless revenge.
