RAMPARTS OF CLAY Movie Review

In contemporary Tunisia, a young woman (Leila Schenna) attempts to reconcile her village's traditional way of life with what she learns of the outside world following a strike by the villagers against a powerful corporation. A tale of the enormous psychological and economic consequences of independence from colonialism, Jean-Louis Bertucelli's Ramparts of Clay is a magnificent visual experience. Through extremely expressive camera movements and design, Bertucelli replicates the sensation of one individual's discovery of a universe beyond her immediate borders. This is a thrilling, poignant, and wholly unforgettable work of art. Though small in scale, I hesitate to refer to it as “a small classic”; it's a classic, all right, yet its impact and power are anything but small.

NEXT STOP … The Silences of the Palace, Emitai, Al Leja (The Land of Leja)

1971 (PG) 87m/C FR Leila Schenna D: Jean-Louis Bertucelli. VHS COL