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Kung Fu Zohra
France / Belgium 2022
produced by François Kraus, Denis Pineau-Valencienne, Yann Arnaud (executive) for Les Films du Kiosque
directed by Mabrouk El Mechri
starring Sabrina Ouazani, Ramzy Bedia, Eye Haidara, Tien Shue, Lina Hachani, Matthieu Burnel, Olivia Côte, Ali El Mechri Efira, Franck Ropers, Achref Mazhoud, Karim Belkhadra, Nang Cao Deo, Saïd Benchnafa, Mabrouk El Mechri, Violaine Papi, Marine Dusehu, Nabil Terbeche, Dayen Benali
written by Mabrouk El Mechri, fight choreographer: Kefi Abrikh
review by Mike Haberfelner
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When Zohra (Sabrina Ouazani) meets Omar (Ramzy Bedia), it's love at
first sight, and at first their relationship goes really well, they get
married, and ... eventually he shows his other face, one that proves he
also has a violent streak. At first it's just a slap, for which he
apologizes profousely, but soon it's more than just slaps and the
apologies fade away, give way to victim blaming. Zohra wants to leave him
- but then learns she's pregnant. Fast forward 6 years, and Zohra still
lives with Omar and their little daughter Zina (Lina Hachani). Omar still
hasn't changed - but he has also proven to be a very good father, and thus
should Zohra divorce him, she figures she'd lose her daughter in a custody
battle. So she suffers his abuse in silence - but then she meets Chang
(Tien Shue), the substitute janitor at her daughter's gym, who seems to be
somewhat sympathetic to her cause despite not speaking a word of France,
and who knows a thing or two about kung fu ... and seems just like one of
the characters of the kung fu movies Zohra loves so much. So she accepts a
night job at the gym, and secretly he trains her in kung fu during these
hours, giving her not only the confidence but also the skills to take her
life back. But it takes its while until Zohra, after many false starts,
has the courage to challenge Omar to a fight over signing their divorce
papers ... Now to blend a domestic abuse drama with a kung fu
comedy isn't what one might call the most obvious genre mix - and Kung
Fu Zohra makes a pretty cool job of it. Now of course, the film's not
always subtle when it comes to humour, at times over-simplifies things or
drives its point home too hard, be it through repetition or otherwise. But
at the same time, the film has a very nice flow to it, and at its best
moments its purely hilarious. And the final fight is not only well-made,
it's also whacky enough to be great fun whether you're into martial arts
or not.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
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