Oscillating between genres,In Flamesmade his debut at the Cannes 2023 festival before landing in the selection of theEuropean Fantastic Film Festival in Strasbourg(FEFFS). A suffocating dive into Pakistani society, byZarrar Kahn…
The night of the living dead
When the father dies, the existence of his wife Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar) and his daughter Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) finds himself upset in a Pakistan with a decidedly patriarchal manner. A trauma that triggers troubling visions in Mariam, where the dead seem to return to life... While the young medical student crosses the road of the sweet Asad (Omar Javaid), returning from her Canadian studies, her torments are only getting worse.
The Pakistani-Canadian Zarrar Kahn embraces the oripals of horror to look at an organized society around the oppression of women. Indeed,In FlamesCould have been a naturalistic drama sticking to the cold reality of what women live in this country (and in so many others elsewhere). Yet it is in the genres of fantasy and horror that Kahn draws all the darkness needed to express his story.
At the crossroads of genres
In FlamesHowever, it cannot be attached to any gender, and in this case it is as much a strength of weakness. Indeed, we navigate between the social film, the romantic comedy, the pure thriller and the darkest fear: this refusal to stop at the codes of a single categorization gives the feature an unexpected side, where it is hard to guess the contours of the next plane. A sincere and rather effective imprevisability, giving rise to eruptions of violence – a man's plan masturbates while observing Mariam through his amazing window and takes the spectator to the throat in particular – and to an enchanting curiosity despite the rather slow rhythm of theslow burnwhat isIn Flames.
However, Kahn struggles to complete the lines he outlines. Horror bursts preceded by a recurring whistle become tiresome and fail to renew themselves during the feature film. An incursion into the tempting horror, offering beautiful projections and real surprises, but leaving at times the impression of wanting to use aesthetic varnish of the genre rather than to indulge fully in it. Apart from a few soubresauts, Zarrar Kahn uses horror more as a simple visual and script catalyst, than as a real part of his film that he will have at heart to dig.
Influence
While this frustrating restraint does not remove the intrinsic qualities of this first particularly intriguing film and the fragrant political resonance. And when Kahn exposes his references (Titanium andAtlantic, see quote below), we understand where his inspirations come from: a cinema of young, new, more inclusive and eminently social genre...
« These amazing French female directors of Titane (Julia Ducournau) and Atlantic (Mati Diop), who are using genre in new and exciting ways . »
A final scene will, however, make us forget, at least temporarily, the grievances outlined above. In fact, it deploys a fully exploited tension and a particularly well-worked imagery around a house dumped by the sea. IfIn Flamesis not perfect, however, there remains a memorable proposition to photography, a convincing casting and the desire to discover the continuation of the filmography of this brand new filmmaker.
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