02/07/2019 - Saudi drama explores social changes in modern Arab life through a tense father-son relationship

The silence between generations is the major driving force of Last Visit, the debut feature of director Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan, which world-premiered in Karlovy Vary's East of the West competition. The Saudi Arabian production explores the shift in morals and values of its country through the relationship of Nasser (Osama Alqess) and Waleed (Abdullah Alfahad) – a father and son whose tensions escalate during a trip to Nasser's gravely ill father.

There's a clear rift between them that long precedes that visit - which occupies the bulk of the picture's brisk 75-minute running time - and the fact that both find themselves outside their comfort zone adds to the unease. Once they arrive at the grandfather's house, a line of dialogue suggests that, back in the day, middle-aged Nasser was once a boy who felt out of place among his region's traditions; this eventually led him to make his life in a big city whilst most of his relatives stayed in the same small village.

Fast forward a few decades and teenage Waleed now embodies the next step in that social change. He largely relinquishes the large part that religion plays in Arab life and seeks refuge in the company of animals, in long unaccompanied walks and - like his peers from any corner of the world these days - his mobile-phone and headphones. In a community so attuned to its environment, Waleed's isolating technology comes across as defiant. Unlike his father, who can play the role of the diligent, religious man for appearances despite his doubts, Waleed just can't be bothered and also refuses to stay quiet about it.

The disappearance of local boy Mishari makes Nasser wonder how it would be to actually lose a son, even though the disconnect with his own offspring perhaps makes him feel like he already has suffered such a “loss.” This is only reinforced when he sees how obedient - and happy about it - his nephews are to their father. He also grieves for a father with whom, as other characters imply, he did not have the best of relationships.

It's telling how the sheer absence of women (there isn't a single one on screen) speaks volumes about the difficulty of communication between men in deep patriarchal cultures. Would all these situations be softened by mothers or sisters acting as mediators? The viewers are invited to ponder such questions.

There's something to be said about the tiredness of the "rebellious teenager" archetype which Waleed incarnates, but even though his motivations are left ambiguous, the character is sufficiently rounded to make him believable. He wants an escape, sure, but he also wants approval of some kind. The choices that he makes looking for the latter are not unlike the ones teenagers do in American coming-of-age films - a comparison that Aldhabaan's script, co-written with Fahad Alestaa (his creative partner on the Saudi TV drama series 42 Days) allows but doesn't impose.

The director/co-writer, alongside editor Fakhreddine Amri, works this material with a lot of ellipses, bringing its main characters' short-sightedness in regards to each other to the visual side. Just as they're unable to see the other in a complete and understandable way, neither is the audience. Last Visit is clearly not concerned with choosing sides in its critique of Islamic culture, nor with bringing a lot of narrative framing to the proceedings, playing out largely like a mood piece. However, the search for Mishari - and its eventual conclusion - does give the picture enough momentum to wrap its third act on a satisfying albeit open-ended note.