Amal – A Free Spirit: a shocking film (review)
By describing the fight of a teacher against religious fundamentalism, this intense Belgian thriller brings a committed stone to the current wave of school films.
After The Teachers’ Room And No waves, released a few weeks ago, a new film tells the story of a conflict between a teacher's character and students while showing the abandonment of the teaching staff by their hierarchy. And the specificity of this Belgian thriller by Jawad Rhalib is to tackle head-on the question of religious fundamentalism and the way in which it finds its way into schools. The story follows Amal, a teacher in a high school in Brussels who teaches The Last Day of a Convict by Victor Hugo to launch a debate on the death penalty. Two camps then form among the students and some are guilty of homophobic harassment towards a classmate. Rising against the fundamentalism that threatens her class, Amal (played by the vibrant Lubna Azabal) will come up against the influence of another professor who gives lessons in Koranic religion and engages in proselytism.
Behind the in-your-face aspect of the scenario, the film highlights the fragilities of a school system where religion classes are compulsory but where public education has no visibility over their content. Defending in her literature class an Islam that is much more joyful than that of her colleague (played by the icy Fabrizio Rongione), Amal throws herself into a standoff and suffers pressure from social networks or malicious associations. And this gripping thriller, directed by a former journalist, turns out to be even more devastating and tragic than recent films on the subject.
By Jawad Rhalib With Lubna Azabal, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée… Duration 1h51. Released April 17, 2024
