Dreams play a pivotal role in “ The Village Next to Paradise .” One of the three main characters in writer-director Mo Harawe ’s poignant debut, a pre-teen boy named Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban), has a compulsion to share his dreams with anyone who’s willing to listen. Cigaal longs for a land full of sweets, a place he sees in his sleep.
The central threesome each have modest dreams: a small shop, a steady job and schooling. Life is hard in their part of Somalia, and they just want it to become a little easier. It’s not much to ask for, and the humble ambition of the story’s characters reflects the filmmaker’s steady hand and patient vision.
Harawe’s assured and confident debut, the first Somali feature ever selected for Cannes, draws on a small canvas but manages to wring authentic emotions and tell a complete narrative. A jack of all trades who can’t find permanent employment, Mamargade (Ahmed Ali Farah) is struggling to make ends meet. He cares for a motherless young son, the aforementioned Cigaal.
His sister Araweelo (Anab Ahmed Ibrahim) is trying to live on her own terms following a marriage that ended because of her infertility. Supporting one another even when they are not in agreement, these misfits have formed a makeshift small family, not unlike those seen in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Shoplifters” and “Broker.” Languid in pace, “The Village Next to Paradise” takes its time to tell its uncomplicated story.
Nothing much changes from scene .
