Traitors

American writer/director Sean Gullette takes a stab at creating an art film made in Morocco and in many ways succeeds. The film is shot in Arabic, French and English with subtitles.

Tomboy Malika, a young punk rocker is desperate to make money and becomes the leader of Traitors, an all-female punk rock band, has a strong vision of the world, her hometown of Tangier, and her place in it. When a producer offers to help her cut a demo if she can pay for the studio, she has to work at her mechanic father's garage. There she meets minor gangster Samir, who offers her a big chunk of change if she'll help smuggle hashish from Morocco. Border controls, meaner gangsters and a burnt out fellow mule create predictable problems. Though the story is sluggish and predictable it is refreshing to see an Arabic woman with ambitions beyond marriage. WE also get a stronger inside look at the underbelly of Tangiers without the car chases and explosions that usually accompany films about Morocco. Chaimae Ben Acha as Malika gives evidence of a strong actress in the making.