Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Cast: Sabrina Ouazani, Ramzy Bedia, Eye Haidara, Tien Shue, Lina Hachani, Matthieu Burnel, Olivia Cote, Ali El Mechri Efira, Franck Ropers, Achref Mazhoud
Running Time: 100 min.
By Martin Sandison
The constantly shifting tones at work in old Hong Kong movies is an aspect that puts off many Western viewers, who are used to consistency and predictability; safety, really. Us lovers of the unpredictable, jarring brilliance seen in films such as Ringo Lam’s insane School On Fire or Sammo Hung’s light-hearted yet blood-spattered masterwork Prodigal Son, welcome looking on in disbelief, our consciousness altered a little. More recently, a number of film-makers influenced by such stuff have begun making actioners. Nobody swapped its solemn, realistic tone for a second half of raucous, OTT, silly mayhem and was all the better for it. Now, from the director of a movie comfortable with being very out-there (JCVD) comes Kung Fu Zohra. A film that shifts tones and mixes genres to brilliant effect, and as much a story of female empowerment and domestic abuse as it is a tribute to kung fu movies, the movie’s quite a ride.
Zohra (Sabrina Oazani) works in a small shop in the middle of nowhere, and meets Omar (Ramzy Bedia) who impresses her with knowledge of kung fu movies, a subject close to her heart. The two relocate to a Parisian suburb, and start a new life. Problems begin when Omar starts to be physically abusive, just as Zohra becomes pregnant. She starts to feel trapped as her daughter is school age, not knowing when Omar will explode. She takes a new job as a cleaner and uses online tutorials to defend herself, and then meets Chang (Tien Shue) a Chinese master of kung fu, who decides to teach Zohra so she can properly defend herself against Omar. Continue reading
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