Black review: This Brussels-set take on the Romeo and Juliet story finally arrives in UK cinemas.
Black review by Paul Heath, August 2016.
Black review
Black literally exploded onto the festival scene in Toronto nearly twelve months ago, and this week finally charges into UK cinemas (and also the small screen in one of those simultaneous releases). This electrifying drama is brought to the screen by the very talented filmmaking duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (who have been signed to direct Beverly Hills Cop 4, largely off the back of this), who deliver an extremely engrossing, contemporary version of a classic Shakespearean tragedy.
The setting is present day Brussels, where there has been a troubling rise in gang culture due to growing youth unemployment. Mavela (Martha Canga Antonio) is a teenage girl who belongs to the violent gang Black Bronx – a group of ruthless territorials intent on protecting their corner of the city. Mavela has a chance meeting with Marwan (Aboubakr Bensaihi), a member of rival Moroccan gang the 1080s, when she is arrested for stealing alcohol in a local supermarket, and a spark is instantly ignited. After initially battling their urge to form a relationship out of fear of encouraging more tension between the two rivals, the two slowly start to fall for one another and their focus in life moves away from the anti-social behaviour that they’ve grown accustomed to. As their relationship becomes more serious, and the two gang’s rivalry heightens, the two must make a choice – their brothers and sisters in arms, or each other.
Black review
Black has, like a lot of festival efforts, has certainly taken its time to reach screens after wowing TIFF audiences in Canada last September. Pleasingly, the film is saved from a direct-to-DVD death in this country and bags itself a simultaneous cinema and VOD release on August 19th, and it’s well worth seeking out.
The press materials liken the movie to that of Goodfellas and City Of God and yes, while parallels to those movies may be drawn, this is very much West Side Story by way of La Haine if directed by the late, great Tony Scott. Both El Arbi and Fallah show stylish, visionary flair both in their cinematography (executed by the talented Robrecht Heyvaert) and their machine gun editing, which is handled by them personally. As well as managing to emerge us in a wide-screen cinematic marvel, the duo also draw phenomenal, extremely realistic performances from their largely unknown and inexperienced cast, particularly from the two leads Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi, who assume the roles of the world be Romeo and Juliet. Both are a joy to watch continuously, as are their supporting contemporaries.
Black review
Make no mistake, this is pretty intense stuff, though the filmmakers manage to balance proceedings well throughout. It is, however, violent and hate-fuelled from the off, and Black also contains some pretty extreme scenes of sexual violence which, while graphic, don’t come across as gratuitous that balance is remarkably achieved between between cinematic gloss and street grit. The film has an general feel of realism, which, combined with the aforementioned style and the familiar beats of a Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story plot, deliver something truly remarkable, original and exciting altogether.
A positive surprise from a filmmaking team who shows extreme early promise. Black deserves high recommendation.
Black review by Paul Heath, August 2016.
Black is released in UK cinemas and VOD on Friday 19th August 2016.
