Director: Roschdy ZemWhen it came to the four year relationship between Clara (rising star Cecile De France who won a Best Actress accolade for her role) and Ismael (Roschdy Zem), religion was never much of an issue. However, things changed when Clara learned she was expecting a child. In Roschdy Zem’s film which has been likened to a twenty-first century global version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a successful Jewish physical therapist and her Muslim piano instructor boyfriend must face their respective families, beliefs and analyze the importance of religious tradition when dealing with the unplanned pregnancy. Zem, whom Variety reports has appeared in more than thirty films in the past decade, earned a 2007 Cesar award nomination for his debut directorial work which was chosen as an official selection at the Scottsdale International Film Festival. Although there are some political and topical debates intertwined in this story of a couple facing the evolution of their relationship, it’s benefited largely from the sheer likability of the two leads that help make up for a sometimes hurried script and slightly contrived ending that detract from the unique plot-line of this succinct eighty-eight minute film that overall shows the importance of love in overcoming vast differences that seem to get even larger when the two take their relationship outside their apartment and begin to become influenced by the expectations and prejudices of others.
