Once in a while, you get to have a different theatrical experience; where calm dominates the hall since it’s not packed as many would expect, but maybe that would be a suitable state to experience poigniancy, a Monday evening for me at Alliance Française.
There’s always a price to pay for standing for what is right, but what happens when family is at risk, since what you’re fighting against has been financially holding it together for years? That, for you, is Rouge (Red Soil).
In this gripping thriller that pits the tireless underdog against forces of corporate greed, Nour Hamadi (Zita Hanrot), an ER nurse, starts a new job in the infirmary at the chemical factory where her father, Slimane Hamadi (Sami Bouajila) works, and uncovers long hidden secrets and corruption, involving toxic waste that causes an infamous ‘red soil’.
What starts off as minor to major health concerns from the workers turns to ethical blows that put the workers employment at risk since the factory could close if met with any irregularities, which in this case are deadly. This battle is empathetically portrayed by Zita Hanrot who’s arc heightens from indecision to resolve to a point of risking her own life for the truth to be exposed.
Nour’s interaction with Emma, a journalist investigating the factory, played by Céline Sallette portrays the reality that we are our own catalysts of change and that our efforts to be vocal of what is right inspires whichever way we do it.
The rift experienced between her father solidifies itself as a major dramatic component to the film, with Slimane Hamadi using his ability to secure Nour her job as a loophole to dim her fire. His doubts are however clear through Sami Bouajila’s performance as a patriarchal and stoic figure but also a loving father who in the end aids in the exposure of the company’s secrets, giving a satisfying arc for his character.
Directed by French/Algerian director Farid Bentoumi, Rouge draws one in to the environmental consequences through it’s cinematography which also portrays the change in familial relations between Nour and her family member as tensions grow.
At 1hr 26min, Rouge is a well paced film blending environmental themes with character growth and resonance.
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