You
have to start somewhere and this is very definitely someplace: Morocco. The
nation’s first domestically produced action movie and it isn’t bad, but it
might have appealed more to Sir Richard Burton the explorer than the actor. Shrewdly,
director-co-screenwriter Saïd C. Naciri takes full advantage of his exotic
locales in 8 Assassins (a.k.a. Kanyamakan, trailer here), which opens a
brief four-day theatrical run tomorrow in Los Angeles.
Amir
would be the first to say he is a thief, not a hero. He isn’t even a
particularly honorable one. When we meet him, he is double-crossing his
accomplices during a back robber. Technically, he is the one holding the bag
(full of cash). They will chase him into the desert in hopes of expressing
their personal disappointment, until Amir reaches the walled Kasbah ruled by
the evil Sharkan. This is definitely an out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire situation
for Amir, who is stripped of his loot and thrown into the dungeon, but he still
fares better than his soon-to-be late colleagues.
Inadvertently,
Amir finds himself in the middle of a clan power struggle, when the prisoner in
the cell next to his reveals he is Shahin, the rightful chief, long thought to
be dead. Sharkan was his presumed successor, but the old man realized his true
nature before passing on the secret of the tribe’s storied treasure. During a
chaotic escape attempt, Amir will subsequently meet Shahin’s daughter Aida, who
has been aiding the tribe’s nomadic rebels, even though she is betrothed to
Sharkan. She has hired two assassins to take out the usurper, but neither has arrived
yet, so she expects Amir to rally to the cause in their place. Eventually, both
hired guns will turn up. While the second is only good for comic relief, the
firepower and know-how Cassius brings will be helpful for storming the Kasbah.
So
right now, you’re probably wondering about the other six assassins. Good
question. Even if you count Amir and Sharkan as assassins (which they aren’t), we
are still four hired killers short. Your guess is as good as mine, but if you’re
inflating the number of assassins in your title, why stop at eight?
It
is a mystery alright—a completely unnecessary one. Maybe you have to grade a
bit on a curve, but 8 Assassins—let’s
call it Kanyamakan—is rather
enjoyable as gritty, low-budget action throw-down. Frankly, it was a mistake to
dub Kanyamakan, because the natural audience
for it is used to watching subtitled Hong Kong action movies. Regardless,
Naciri recruited a number of stunt performers for his cast, all of whom are
clearly comfortable with shooting, fighting, and pyrotechnics. The Kasbah is wildly
cinematic and all the tribal elements add an intriguing dimension.
Mohamed
Elachi has the action chops and a decent roguish anti-hero screen presence as
Amir. Sarah Kazemy, co-star of the rather daring Persian lesbian drama Circumstance, is indeed quite striking
as Aida. As Cassius, Diouc Koma attacks his scenes with admirable gusto, even
though his character doesn’t make much sense. Perhaps most notable among the
supporting ensemble is Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, who generated controversy when
he portrayed Satan in the History Channel’s Bible
miniseries, because some commentators thought he looked Obama. In Kanyamakan, he doesn’t remotely resemble
Obama, or, as far as we know, Satan, but plays Shahin with all kinds of
grizzled dignity. However, Taken franchise
veteran Affif Ben Badra makes the strongest impression radiating villainous intensity
as Sharkan.