IR Film Review: KANDISHA [Shudder]

The texture of curses especially in Arabic lore is an interesting approach. With "Kandisha" it is a mix of many different elements both with textures of Islam but also mythology. In a modern context it is intriguing because this mythology in general talks about a female almost centaur coming to take the lives of the men because of their transgressions. But it becomes more of a revenge element blending with an element of sacrifice. The three ladies (their own coven in a way) are graffiti artists doing their art in the underground of Morocco which is cool and oddly mythical anyway. One is black, the other Arabic and the other white (per se). They all give each other grief but between them and their circle of friends (including brothers and fathers), there is a sense of family. An incident happens with one of the girls is hurt by a former boyfriend which sends the curse in motion out of warranted rage and revenge. But once it gets going, even by religion, want and regret, the progress does not stop.

What makes it intriguing is that it targets men whom they love as well which is where the crisis and push and pull of the power and poignancy of the curse comes in. The violence is primal. While one in a living shows the primal scream of the girls, one in a shower is downright nightmarish and for good reason. While most of the time, the parents are outside of view save for one of the girls' dads, the film draws an interesting line with religion in terms of what can be deemed exorcism. One sequence with a disgraced Iman takes on more resonance once you understand how it is connected in family structure. Ultimately the way the story plays does shows that there is reasoning and that the consequence of action moves in both directions both because of hate and sadness but also in a way, regret. B

By Tim Wassberg