Writer/Director Néjib Belkadhi takes on a rather difficult theme for this movie about an absentee Father (who's actually living a double life). Actor Nidhal Saadi plays Lotfi a 40 something Tunisian immigrant living in Marseille and rather thuggishly running his home appliance store. He's in a committed relationship with his French girlfriend who's expecting their child. When his past catches up with him, he has to go back to Tunisia to attend to serious family matters.
Unbeknown to his present live-in 'wife', in his past life, he was married with an Autistic child and now must decide what to do with the young 9yr old lad. He doesn't seem at all the type to have the patience required to care for a severely handicapped child and also has several complex family situations to resolve, but somehow he seems determined to attempt to relate to the young lad. Much angst ensues, but he persists.
Performances are very convincing by all, but the story seems to be without a fully resolved end, as the viewer is left unsure how all of his complicated family situations (x2) will finally play out. Up till that time, the detailed attempts to overcome the difficulty of Autistic communication are approached with sensitivity.
Another problem is putting up with the incessant use of smoking products - where each and every scene looked like an endless plug for Tobacco, weed, or vaping products. Thought this type of push went out with the ill-informed 40s? Please, don't force that on us again!
