Al Hmar Film by Tariq Keblaoui

Watch Al Hmar here

In Ancient Phoenicia, an old man is conned into believing that he had sinned by treating a man as his work-donkey for many years, and seeks forgiveness from the Gods to relieve himself of his wrongdoing.

Al Hmar is a heavily symbolic short film that translates the absurdities of folktales and their superstitious consequences in a really humorous manner.

Superstition and deception are just an example of the numerous themes that were tackled during this film’s really short yet extremely meaningful runtime!! The dialog was simple yet rich. It was filled with interesting life lessons that transcends the barriers of time and space and can be applied literally at any time and at any place!

Al Hmar’s best aspect is that each viewer can interpret it in the way they see fit. This is the beauty of having a storyline that is both multi-dimensional and multi-layered. It’s a story filled with metaphors and underlying symbols and it obliges you to look and read between the lines and analyze each and every movement!!!

The characters were hilarious. Said Serhan and Mohamad Akil both did a remarkable job in portraying their characters and bringing them to life!! but as much as I tried to, I simply couldn’t connect with the protagonist. I felt like this specific character needed a little more character development!

Honestly speaking, Al Hmar is a really humorous and entertaining short film that actually requires attention and analysis for one to fully enjoy it! I definitely recommend it!

Watch Al Hmar here