The String (2009) User Reviews

A Utopian vision

[steven-222 · 8/10 · 26 June 2010]

When handsome young Malik returns home to Tunisia from France to take up work as an architect, he moves back in with his widowed mom, and why not? She's Claudia Cardinale! And her house is fabulous. (The shaded pavilion with a view of the sea is my favorite part of the estate, but the garden with the huge palm trees and orange hammock is pretty nice, too...and so is Malik's bathroom with the amazing tile...this is world-class real estate.)

Unknown to mom, Malik is gay; mostly he seems attracted to the rough trade guys who hang out in a certain part of town just waiting to service rich boys like Malik, but there's this achingly cute young handyman (even cuter than Malik) living in Mom's servant quarters who keeps catching his eye, Bilal. It turns out there is more to Bilal than meets the eye, but you won't find that out until later.

Meanwhile, to satisfy mom and give the kid a father, Malik is planning to marry his work partner, a coupled lesbian who's having a baby by artificial insemination. The lesbian's father is unbelievably cool with all this. I want to be as cool as that old guy some day.

Where is all this heading? To another tragic gay movie where somebody dies? I don't think I require a spoiler alert to tell you that "The String" is not that sort of movie. This is a loving, wise, subtle, witty, sophisticated, erotic, almost Utopian vision of how life should be, a tonic to all those well-made but often dreary movies about gay life outside the urban gay Meccas of the West.

The acting is terrific (Malik's face tells many stories), the sense of humor is spot-on, Cardinale is simultaneously the scariest and best mother a gay boy could ever hope for, and the whole movie is beautifully directed, especially the scene where Bilal comes to Malik and humbly asks to borrow his shoes, because his own outfit isn't classy enough to get him into a trendy club. So much happens in this scene, it's like a little movie in itself. It sets in motion everything that comes afterward.

(PS: I just found out that the movie won the Best Feature audience award at the San Francisco Frameline film fest, where I saw it. Well deserved.)

Promises much but delivers little

[howie73 · 6/10 · 11 January 2011]

Le Fil(aka The String) promises much but delivers little. This directorial debut by Mehdi Ben Attia is confused by what it wants to be. Starting as a commentary on quasi-French colonialism vis a vis Tunisian servitude, Le Fil then dabbles unsuccessfully in a range of conflicting cinematic genres – from melodrama to thriller to comedy. It seems to favour melodrama but masters none. Ultimately, the film wants to satisfy every genre but ends up a dissatisfying mess. The editing also feels rushed as if the film has to be under 90 minutes. There is not much of a plot to drive the narrative. What starts of as a restrained gay version of Mommie Dearest soon becomes something altogether different.

Claudia Cardinale is maniacal enough to maintain her bitchiness as the archetypal overbearing mother, whose closeted French-Arab architect son, Hakim returns home to live with her in Tunusia. Soon enough conflicts arise between both, and the Oedipal attachment is soon erupted by the son's longing for the Tunusian handyman, Bilal. The son is torn between his mother's approval and his desire to live as a gay man in Tunisia. The fact that he could easily have moved back to France with his handyman is not even mentioned. Instead we are treated to a dubious moral fable about the importance of family – the ties that bind can imprison us, but they also liberate us at a price: the façade of social conformity.

I also found the conceit of the string, real and imagined, was rather crude. As a symbol of the umbilical cord it might have a Freudian significance, but it felt clumsily realised and out of touch with the film's penchant for realism. The film feels like a reflection of many gay men's reality by saying that gay men must compromise their lives to live in a heterosexist world. In spite of the happy ending that reaffirms the conservative values of family, Le Fil climaxes as a depressing tale for gay men who want to be free of the strictures of family life.

Why must everyone be beautiful?

[brucelei-1 · 7/10 · 1 February 2011]

This is actually a very good film. the plot-line is intelligent and interesting; it is well acted, directed, and filmed. Its major flaw is that, like most gay oriented films, the major characters are all beautiful. This film deals with real social problems that should be able to move gay audiences particularly, but also a straight public. Why, then, must the action be transported to the realm of the beautiful people, whom the majority of the audience can envy and even empathize with to some extent, but somehow not quite identify with? Having the action take place in beautiful surroundings among beautiful people is, of course, not limited to films that treat gay issues. But it seems to be endemic in films with gay social content, and in that sense, it is particularly harmful. What gay audiences need to see, and what straight people interested in gay issues also need to see, are gay social issues treated as taking place among average looking people in average looking surroundings. These are everyday issues touching the lives of the large majority of gay people. They are not abstractions; they are painful realities. This is no place for physical idealization. The issues are too serious for this type of useless, distracting decoration.

At last, a happy gay ending

[geoffox-766-418467 · 13 February 2011]

For this film, directed and written by Mehdi Ben Attia does that very thing. It doesn't preach a message, it doesn't force people to sacrifice their lives or dignities. It just tells a story of two men who fall in love and live happily ever after. Why not? Why can't there be such films? My hat is off to those responsible for making this happen. Writers, director and a wonderful cast.

And how wonderful to see Claudia Cardinale again. Still with those beautiful eyes and looking smashing as the mother of one of the boys who fall in love. She also gets to go through all the moments that most mothers go through in finding out their son is gay. Cardinale is terrific. As her gay son, Atonin Stahly, too, is wonderful. He didn't miss a beat in this. From the frustrated son coming home to dealing with a possessive mother to falling in love. As his love interest, Salim Kechiouche seems perfectly fitted for the role. A beautiful, sensitive young man bringing much passion into his role. At first you feel something is going to happen. Something will go wrong. This is too beautiful to last. As in most gay love stories, it usually does. But in this is doesn't. The ending is so beautiful and touching, you want to stand up and cheer. Thanks for a lovely romantic love story between two men.

Serious topics dealt perfunctorily

[BeneCumb · 6/10 · 18 June 2015]

Social and religious contradictions, gay/lesbian secrecy, and all this in an Islamic/Arab country - plenty of intriguing stuff to issue from and complete with. True, it is difficult to fit it all in a film less than 1.5 hours, and that is probably the reason why the film seemed a lightweight walk over the issues, with the director's apparent desire of being brave and progressive, but not too provoking in showing love and affection (Mehdi Ben Attia comes from Tunisia where the film is shot). The second half or so is less interesting and even more perfunctory, and the ending is rather odd, characteristic to Bollywood films rather than French creations.

The aged Claudia Cardinale has somehow lost her charm, and all other performers did not impress me much; I did not fix them in my memory, and their accomplishments did not make me look for films with their presence...

Thus, just an average film to me, 1-2 additional points for boldness and pleasant Tunesian scenes - not often shown in films widely available in the Western world. As for gay films, you might want to see respective German and Scandinavian films with meaty approach.

Cinema Omnivore - The String (2009) 6.2/10

[lasttimeisaw · 6/10 · 26 January 2021]

"If Malik and Bilal's affaire de coeur swims safely without any internal or external snags, the chief drama in THE STRING is the mother-son reconciliation, and it doesn't take much for Sara to change her mind and munificently dole out her acceptance and benevolence. Although a hale Cardinale basks in Sara's unstrained gentility with ease and charm, THE STRING, as a whole, doesn't live up to her gracious standard, Attia is a clunky filmmaker, plot developments are wheeled out in a groove and subtlety is ever elusive. As a greenhorn, Viswanadhan's performance cannot frictionlessly switch from continental charisma to guilt-ridden turmoil, and Kechiouche's Bilal is too secondary to have any say besides being a supportive boyfriend."

read the full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Nicely Wound

[NoDakTatum · 8/10 · 15 October 2023]

"The String" is a tricky film. It addresses familial and religious conflict, yet provides its characters with an interesting reality that completely engaged this viewer. Architect Malik (Antonin Stahly) has returned to Tunisia to see his recently widowed mother Sara (Claudia Cardinale). Sara has hired on handyman Bilal (Salim Kechiouche) and conservative cook Wafa (Rihab Mejri) to help her around the house. Malik is already torn between his Arab and French worlds, and has not yet come out to his mother about his other internal conflict- he is gay. He learns Bilal might also be gay, and tries to get to know the young man while still keeping a master/servant relationship. Malik is working on a mosque design, and his lesbian coworker Siryne (Ramla Ayari) wants him to father her child. Malik must confront all of these new relationships, and deal with a mother who is in denial about her son.

The film's title comes from a piece of string that can be seen attached to Malik from time to time. The string represents the hold both his mother and his upbringing have on the man, and it is something he has dealt with since he was a child. On the surface, you might assume where the film is going. You hear about strings, and overbearing mothers, and Muslim customs, and prepare for the fireworks. Co-writer/director Mehdi Ben Attia balances things perfectly, not going overboard with melodramatics and assumptions. Tunisia and its French influence are completely unknown to me, but setting this story there is educational as well as compelling. The string subplot doesn't get silly, the film is respectful of the Muslim characters without mocking them or their beliefs, and Cardinale portrays the clicheed "overbearing mother" role so elegantly and sympathetically that you cannot help but like her despite her sometimes abrasive behavior. The Tunisian locations are stunning. The film makers don't shy away from some less than pretty urban scenes, but the beach scenes are incredible to watch. The cast is fantastic across the board. Stahly's Malik (or Hakim to his Arab friends and family) is still hurting from his father's death, and seeing his extended family again after so many months is a bit of a culture shock. Thankfully, Ben Attia does not write Bilal as some boorish caveman with no brains. Kechiouche turns him into a likable character who is also unsure about pursuing a relationship with his employer's son. What can I say about Claudia Cardinale? I have been in love with her since "Once Upon a Time in the West," "8 1/2," and "The Pink Panther." She is older now, but still has a beautiful spark in her eye, and holds her own against the mostly younger cast. She has a great scene with Kechiouche as Sara describes being the outsider at her own wedding, and perhaps understanding what Bilal and Malik are going through. While I would have liked to see more follow-through with a couple of subplots like the fake cop scene, the mosque's need for parking, Malik's cousin, and Sara's mother-in-law, "The String" is a nice little film that doesn't let its exoticism get away from it.

The String

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 7 August 2023]

Quite a classy little film, this one. "Malik" (Antonin Viswanadhan) returns from Paris to his home in Tunisia after the death of his father and falls in love with his mother's handyman "Bilal" (Salim Kechiouche). He doesn't so much come out to, as get caught out by, his mother - a still stunning Claudia Cardinale - and the story focuses on the personal and cultural hurdles not just current, but in his past, as they all come to terms. It's a beautifully shot, evenly paced story from a part of the world not often associated with this genre of cinema. Well worth a watch and the score merits a decent sound system too!

The soundtrack ruined the movie

[esjara97 · 3/10 · 10 July 2014]

The film was all right, but the soundtrack was so horrible that it ruined so many scenes. The whole string thing didn't make much sense, they could have skipped it, although it did show the progress that the character made throughout the movie. I thought that Malik's father's appearances were very odd at times, for example when he was talking to Malik's mother about his (Malik's) homosexuality. The ending was also very odd, since Malik and Bilal were together and Siryne and Leila were together, it didn't make much sense that Malik and Siryne got married. It would have made much more sense had they just been parents together, but nothing more. It wasn't like they were hiding their homosexuality, so the marriage didn't have any obvious reason.

The acting was terrific, though. I loved Malik's mother, she was a wonderful character and Claudia Cardinale portrayed her wonderfully. I loved Malik and Bilal's relationship but, again, I don't understand why Malik had to get married. I also loved Siryne and Leila's relationship, it wasn't the most typical relationship, and I liked that. Siryne's father, even though he merely appeared in one small scene, was wonderful and very well portrayed.

fun film. Gay interest, in a challenging locale.

[ksf-2 · 1 October 2011]

Our hero returns home to his mother's house and must face issues that he was able to avoid by spending time away. Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan is Malik, a gay man, who keeps running into Mom's servant Bilal, played by Salim Kechiouche. My complaint here is the music. It frequently doesn't reflect the correct mood of what's taking place in the scene. They use eerie violin music in much of the film, even when people are happy, or just driving down the country road. It might be helpful to match the music to the mood of the action or scene. Also, the bit about the string got annoying after a while, even if it IS the title and theme of the film. Don't want to give away spoilers here… we'll just say it all hits the fan, and there are secrets and family members to be faced, in an Islamic country yet. Written, directed, and even a minor role by Mehdi Ben Attia. Attia had only directed a short film prior to this, in 2000. Enjoyable film. Good story, excellent acting. Mostly good subtitles in the TLA version….even if they did skip some bits of the conversation here & there. It's a shame that they did not translate more of what is said in the church... would have been interesting to hear what was said.