, the brilliant, Oscar-nominated film from Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, could almost have been called. Yahya Mahayni stars as Sam Ali, a Syrian refugee who enters into a deeply unsettling arrangement with Jeffrey Godefroi , a rich and wilfully provocative artist. Having fled to safety in Beirut, educated Sam finds himself stuck in a mundane job vaccinating chickens, but Jeffrey and his chilly assistant Soraya offer him a way out.
Mahayni’s beautifully nuanced performance conveys all of Sam’s desperation, bravery, debasement and determination. Sam doesn’t agree to Jeffrey’s deal naively, but neither does he fully appreciate its potential to dehumanise him. “He’s under duress of circumstances,” the actor says, pointing out that Sam’s tipping point comes during a Zoom call with Abeer, when he sees his former lover reluctantly embracing the wealthy man she was forced to marry.