If you are a fan of slow-burn character studies, existential dread, and the aesthetics of urban isolation, this MTRJM (Moroccan cinema) hidden gem deserves your attention. Warning: Minor thematic spoilers ahead.
For fans of independent Moroccan cinema looking beyond the usual festival darlings, this film is a quiet, powerful punch. Just don’t expect it to hold your hand. That would require caring. Have you seen any other under-the-radar MTRJM films about urban alienation? Share your recommendations in the comments below. shahd fylm The Time Of Indifference 2021 mtrjm
Beneath the surface, Youssef is a ghost. If you are a fan of slow-burn character
★★★½ (4/5 for ambition and mood; 3/5 for accessibility) Just don’t expect it to hold your hand
Moroccan cinema is often associated with two extremes: lavish, festival-bound art films about social struggle, or broad comedies made for local box office success. But every few years, a film slips through the cracks that feels uncomfortably personal. Shahd Fylm’s The Time of Indifference (2021) is exactly that film.
The film follows (played with haunting restraint by a relatively unknown cast), a mid-30s graphic designer in Casablanca. On the surface, he has everything—a stable remote job, a modest but modern apartment, and access to the city’s nightlife.