TIFF ’22 Review: ‘Ashkal’ is a hot mystery
‘Ashkal’ follows a police investigation into an apparent suicide by fire, while the department faces charges of corruption.
Police detectives are tasked with solving mysteries, which are sometimes horrific and occasionally hard to explain. Hunting a serial killer, on the one hand, can provide additional clues with each new crime scene, but also means the longer it takes to catch the perpetrator, the more victims they take. The authorities assigned to these cases often become obsessed with the details, determined to catch the killer… sometimes by any means necessary. In Ashkal, an apparent suicide raises suspicion as other victims whose deaths follow the same unusual pattern begin to subsequently appear.
Detectives Fatma (Fatma Oussaifi) and Batal (Mohamed Houcine Grayaa) have a good partnership, respecting each other’s opinions and having each other’s backs. But it’s been trying lately as Fatma’s father is heading a commission investigating a history of police corruption, making her the target of derision from many of her colleagues and leaving Batal to try to mediate regularly. When they’re assigned to a case of suicide by immolation, something about the death doesn’t feel like it was self-inflicted, particularly as everyone notes how uncharacteristic it would be of the deceased. When another person burns to death under similar circumstances, it becomes more difficult to ignore. And when another turns up, even their superiors can’t rebuff their claims. But there’s something that doesn’t feel right about the case and they can’t quite put their finger on it.
Much of the film unfolds in and around the Gardens of Carthage, a district in the north of Tunis. Development in the district stopped in 2011 when a Tunisian street vendor self-immolated, sparking a revolution that received global attention. Now that construction has resumed, the troubles have returned with it. Consequently, there is a lot of political pressure to close the initial case quickly and rule it as a non-criminal matter. Yet, Fatma and Batal cannot let it go, facing threats from their superiors who warn them against pursuing it any further. But they can’t answer the question: why would someone wage a protest where they wouldn’t be seen?
The crime thriller element of the story is very strong, especially as the detectives are digging into something they’ve been ordered to leave alone. Self-immolation is an intense act and the fact that the scene shows no signs of instinctual self-preservation is puzzling. Moreover, the connection between the victims appear non-existent, except for their interactions with the killer. Fatma becomes obsessed with an eyewitness’ wording around the ignition of the flames, which isn’t a conventional description of how someone would set a fire. While this is meant to signify what is revealed at the film’s conclusion, it would have actually been better if the movie ended when the screen first fades to black, before the unnecessary, otherworldly spectacle somewhat diminishes the excellence of the rest of the narrative.
Ashkal had its North American premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema programme at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Read other reviews from the festival.
Director: Youssef Chebbi
Starring: Fatma Oussaifi, Mohamed Grayaâ and Hichem Riahi