i guess this is morocco day. my second film i saw today was fata morgana (imdb). like "where are you going moshe?" "fata" takes place in morocco. but that's pretty much where the resemblance ends. moroccans barely appear at all in the film. instead, it follows the story of a german couple who go to morocco for vacation, rent a jeep, drive it into the desert, and quickly get in over their heads. they meet a german-speaking frenchman who rescues them, or does he? while supposedly leading them back to civilization, he really just seems to be taking them deeper and deeper into the desert.
the film was pretty good at keeping tensions high. the sparse dialogue combined with the dramatic scenery was very effective at keeping me on the edge of my seat. just don't expect a nice resolution at the end. one problem i had with the film is why laura, the female half of the german couple, was so attracted to the mysterious frenchman. the guy was, at best, an asshole or, at worst, a psychopath. her attraction seemed a big contrived, like the filmmaker was trying to add some sexual tension to the film, heaping it on top of the regular old tension you get whenever people are desperate and lost in the desert.
nevertheless, i seem to have a weakness for the whole westerners-lost-in-the-sahara genre, so overall i did like this film. besides the cinematography is really great. the sahara was made for the big screen.
one more thing: the title of the film is never explained in the film. it has the same name as a werner herzog film, but i haven't seen anything saying that the new "fata" is a remake. nor have i seen the herzog film. but the "fata" i saw tonight has the same theme as just about every herzog film that i have seen1: people vs. nature with nature soundly kicking people's ass. if anyone has seen the original "fata" or knows the relations between the two films, let me know. i'm curious.
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1- except for maybe this one.
