Ahmed El Maanouni 1981 Morocco
Documentary
The band Nass El Ghiwane are little known in this country but, judging by the massive crowds and the hysteria on show, they're stars of a magnitude similar to the Rolling Stones in their home country. Fans rush onstage the second they finish a song and are tackled by men in military uniforms, children imitate them in the street using saplings as microphone stands, they're a real phenomenon. They're even credited with helping bring about social change in Morocco and encouraging rebellion against the government and hearing some of their lyrics, 'dancing to the rhythm of death while tyrants multiply' and 'blood draining out in the din' for example, it's not difficult to see why. The Stones comparison also extends to a connection with their roots, in this case in the use of traditional, non-electric instruments like the darbouka, the influence of Gnawa music and the passing down of stories and songs from generation to generation. In Trances El Maanouni attempts to bring all these elements together but isn't altogether successful. It's not that the film is particularly bad, it's just that it can't quite seem to make up its mind. Despite several live sequences it's not substantial enough to be a concert film and despite spending time with several of the band members it doesn't give enough information to work as a biography. There's also the fact that despite all the political and cultural implications that apparently go along with the band there's no real insight into them. Instead we see images of the country which, beautiful as they are, don't really go anywhere and members of the band talking about dreams they've had. I understand that El Mannouni was attempting an abstract film poem but there's really not enough meat surrounding it to capture the imagination. I'd love to learn more about the band at some point and hear more of their music but this just isn't the place to do it. The music's bloody brilliant though, so there's that.
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