Sarajevo 2024 review: Moon (Kurdwin Ayub)

“Not entirely confident enough to embrace the genre elements that are desperately trying to burst out at many different points, but still a well-directed drama that attempts to peer beneath the veneer.”

There are those who live by the principle that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. This is the conundrum faced by the protagonist in Moon, the third directorial outing of Kurdwin Ayub, which tells the story of a faded MMA fighter who is recruited by a seemingly pleasant family in Jordan to travel, all expenses paid, to train their three daughters in the martial arts. The offer is extremely appealing, despite the clear signs that something is amiss, which becomes increasingly more clear the further she integrates herself into the lives of these people, revealing some sinister secrets lurking just out of sight. A disquieting drama in which it seems Ayub, in what we can consider a spiritual companion to her previous film Sun, is telling a story that blends social commentary, cultural discourse and issues around contemporary femininity to create an off-kilter work that challenges and provokes in ways that are difficult to anticipate, and proves to be genuinely surprising in how it crafts something truly unforgettable from the fabric of a story that would otherwise be seen as far too heavy-handed to have any lasting impact. A fascinating voice in contemporary cinema that seems to be intent on reconfiguring many conventional depictions of nearly every subject she chooses to explore, Ayub crafts quite a daring piece in the form of Moon, with several layers that seem impenetrable at first but gradually and methodically come to reveal their inner secrets in a way that is truly engaging, offering us unique insights in both story and structure.

Moon is a film that draws the viewer in without initially making it clear where it is going, with the process of unearthing the secrets lingering beneath this seemingly simple plot being part of the experience. At first, it seems like a relatively conventional gritty social realist drama – a European fighter past her prime encounters an intriguing opportunity and takes it without hesitation, which proves to be quite a poor choice on her part considering what she soon will discover about the family for whom she will be working. This moment where it transitions from merely a story of culture clash – which is likely drawn from the director’s own observations as someone with background in both Iraq and Austria – and becomes something much more sinister is fascinating, since it conceals something much deeper and more insidious than captures our attention immediately. Ayub casts a very critical eye on the subject of gender – she’s not interested in the discourse around difference in the same way as some of her contemporaries, and instead is far more interested in the process of looking at how these women function within societies where they are objectified, albeit in very different ways from each other. It’s not so much a case of commodifying femininity as it is controlling and restricting it, and through this fascinating but unsettling story where these themes are underlined, we begin to see the cracks in the façade of beauty and fragility that supposedly propels these beliefs.

Ayub is certainly taking several bold swings with Moon, and not all of them are entirely effective. Ambition is a useful commodity, and it certainly doesn’t go to waste in this film, but it sometimes does come across as not having as clear a vision in practice as it does in theory, particularly in how it blends the narrative and tone, which start to deviate just as the film begins to hit its stride and often doesn’t feel entirely purposeful. There is a certain quality about this film that doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of it, which is mainly the result of a story that is driven less by specifics, and more by an overarching atmosphere that becomes the priority as the film progresses. A moody, dense psychological thriller based around cultural differences does sound intriguing in theory, but when it comes to putting it into practice we start to notice a few of the smaller inconsistencies that distract from the core of an otherwise very effective film, rendering it slightly less-than-perfect in certain portions. Character development and the eventual motivations behind certain decisions are somewhat weak in contrast to its immense potential, and the climactic moments may be thrilling at the time but lose momentum and come to an abrupt end, which may have been intentional (since the protagonist is simply allowed to walk away despite the knowledge of the family’s sinister past), but still slightly detracts from a film that had an abundance of promise. However, it manages to offer strength in other areas – the performances are uniformly excellent, particularly from Florentina Holzinger as the fighter-turned-trainer whose slow descent into paranoia forms the foundation of the film – and the overall tone induces a sense of curiosity as we attempt to peel away the layers that define this unusual but fascinating film.

Some of the subtext in Moon may be slightly questionable – such as the final scene with the protagonist, seemingly amid a breakdown, singing “S&M” by Rihanna, a female empowerment anthem that prominently features the words “whips and chains”, a very on-the-nose reference for those who notice it. However, these elements do indicate some sense of intrigue simmering beneath the surface, which aids the film in establishing a clear series of ideas that are intimate and sprawling at the same time. It may not go entirely in-depth into the culture clash between the characters, but we soon realize that the idea that this film would be centred around a fish-out-of-water tale of someone navigating unfamiliar terrain and the conventions that go along with it was only a ruse to draw us in, since it shifts gears halfway through and becomes something much more brooding. This will likely appeal to those seeking a more unconventional glimpse at some of these themes. Not entirely confident enough to embrace the genre elements that are desperately trying to burst out at many different points, but still a well-directed drama that attempts to peer beneath the veneer in an effort to offer something unique, Moon is a strong offering that challenges itself to be different and achieves a kind of complexity that elevates it and allows it to overcome the small flaws through sheer audacity and the desire to look at a common subject through as bespoke a lens as possible.