La Vierge, les Coptes et moi
Namir Abdel Messeeh
France, Qatar | 2012 | 85 min
Namir travels to Egypt, his native land, to make a film about miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the Coptic Christian community. His investigation provides an excuse to visit his family, in the countryside, and to involve the whole village in a fantastic celebration… Part documentary, part personal invention, a wonderful comedy about roots, beliefs and… filmmaking.
Namir travels to Egypt, his native land, to make a film about miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the Coptic Christian community. He is soon reunited with his family in the countryside. Unable to film proof of the appearances, the apprentice filmmaker ends up staging a fantastic spectacle involving the whole village. From end to end, this cheerful comedy, featuring the director himself, poses questions about the visual image and related issues: Can one believe without seeing? See without believing? What can cinema achieve? As it progresses, despite its offhand manner – never trust appearances! – the film gains in complexity and gives its own answer. The cinema is first of all a wonderful way to rediscover one’s roots, cancel distance – geographical, cultural, religious – be together, in a word: share. In contact with his farmer brothers, faced with their poverty, the filmmaker sees things more sharply and, without losing anything of his playful spirit, reveals his full humanity. A minor miracle…
Alessia Bottani
Translation BMP Translations