Arab Blues (Arabic: أريكة في تونس, romanized: Arīkah fī Tūnis, French: Un divan à Tunis, lit. 'A couch in Tunis') is a 2019 French-Tunisian comedy film written and directed by Manele Labidi Labbé, in her feature debut. Starring Golshifteh Farahani as Selma, it follows a psychoanalyst moving back to her native Tunisia.
The film had its world premiere in the Giornate degli Autori section of the 76th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2019. It was theatrically released in France on 12 February 2020 by Diaphana Distribution, and in Tunisia on 26 February by Hakka Distribution.
Contents
Plot
The film is about a Tunisian psychoanalyst Selma who, after having been educated in Paris, moves back to Tunisia to open a psychoanalytic practice.
Cast
Golshifteh Farahani as Selma
Hichem Yacoubi as Raouf
Moncef Anjegui as Mourad
Majd Mastoura as Naim
Release
The film had its world premiere at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, during the Venice Days, on 4 September 2019. Its North American debut was in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2019.
Reception
Box office
Arab Blues grossed $3.7 million worldwide, against a production budget of about $2.4 million.
Critical response
On French review aggregator AlloCiné, the film holds an average rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on 24 critics' reviews.