“[A] beautifully observed and melancholic memory piece.” —Film-Forward
Based on director Abdellah Taïa’s autobiographical novel, Salvation Army is the coming-of-age story of a gay man in Morocco. Sparse in dialogue and shot by the talented Agnès Godard, the film is in two parts: first chronicles hiss teenage years as he navigates his sexuality and learns about the harsh realities of poverty, patriarchy, and adolescence. The second part follows him through his postgraduate travels on a scholarship to Geneva, where race and sexuality intersect and isolate him from European society. The film challenges prevailing victim narratives, instead offering a meditation on both Moroccan society and queerness. Taïa’s story demands not pity but respect. 2013, Morocco, in French and Arabic with English subtitles, 81 minutes.