The Last Queen
THE LAST QUEEN [2022] Starring: Adila Bendimerad, Dali Benssalah, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Imen Nouel Direction by Adila Bendimerad & Damien Ounouri Language: Arabic I can't lie: I tend not to enjoy historical films when they are set in time periods before the mid-1850s. I don't know why: it's just a personal preference, I guess. But the timings worked out for me so I went to see it. My only real motivation was the fact that the movie centered around a woman, unafraid to challenge stereotypes. Seeing characters like this on the big screen is always fun - and I am grateful that I dragged myself to see the movie, because it was amazing. The film, set in early 16th century Algiers, follows the story of the pirate Barbarossa, masquerading as a 'liberator' Aruj, as he tries to convert Muslim land to Christianity. He penetrates into high Algiers society, but, he must overcome obstacles to reach his goal: most notably Queen Zaphira, the wife of the late King Salim Toumani...