Sundance 2025 Review: Where the Wind Comes From
Frustrated by their stagnate lives in Tunisia, a rebellious teenager and a young adult attempt to make the artistic aspirations of the latter come to fruition by embarking on road trip to attend a competition that offers an opportunity to begin anew in Germany.
The death of her father has caused Alyssa to be the caregiver to her emotionally incapacitated mother and her adolescent sister; her solace comes from having a friendship with Mehdi, an unemployed computer programmer with an artistic talent for drawing surrealistic illustrations. A poster promoting an art competition with the award being an opportunity to be mentored in Germany captures the attention of Alyssa and she prods Mehdi to enter which results in him making the final round but he lacks the necessary travel funds to attend.
Undoubtedly the road trip and the gangster enraged that his car has been stolen by the girl he covets is drawn out weakening the emotional punch and drama. The best part is the platonic relationship between Alyssa and Mehdi because the simplest thing would be to have a sexual romp; however, by avoiding this trope their bond comes across as strong and believable. Eya Bellagha has a showy role as playing the out going Alyssa who would not hesitate to fake a seizure to steal some food from a gas station convenience store.
Things start off promising with Alyssa climbing over a closed school gate to get access to her sister as there is a surreal comedic quality to the incident which defies normal conventions. The trouble is that the verve and nerve on display quickly dissipate as conventions soon takeover. The wind is always present with the best use occurring when Alyssa shouts out her frustrations after a traumatic confrontation and is drowned out as Mother Nature embraces the fury being put forth by her. The wild imagination of the female lead that features a colourful bird, vine bracelet and literally pigheaded human beings fits into the visual aesthetic and storytelling has a jarring effect rather than offering insight into the character.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 23 to Feb. 2 2025, in person and online, and for more information visit sundance.org.
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.