''Goodbye Mothers'' (French title: ''Adieu Mères'', Arabic title: - ''Wada'an Omahat'') is a Moroccan film directed by

Mohamed Ismaïl Mohamed Ismaïl (1 September 1951 – 20 March 2021) was a Moroccan film director. He directed the 2008 film '' Goodbye Mothers''. References Moroccan film directors 1951 births 2021 deaths {{Morocco-film-director-stub ...

. Set-up in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, the movie depicts the fate of Moroccan Muslim and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families during the exodus of the Jews of Morocco in the beginning of the 1960s. The plot inspires itself from the tragic sinking of the Egoz, when 44 Moroccan Jews who were clandestinely emigrating to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

lost their lives.

Plot

Casablanca, 1960. Henri and Brahim are childhood friends despite their different religions. They are managing the

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

their fathers created and ran successfully for years. Their wives, Ruth and Fatima are working together in an insurance company, managed by Mr. Ouaknine, who is about to liquidate his estates to make his aliyah to Israel so he can live with his grandchildren. Shoshana Bouzaglo, a very religious and traditional widow, is really upset about her daughter Eliane dating Mehdi, a Muslim boy from her technical school. His father, Mr. Benchekroun, is a successful businessman who specializes in purchasing the estates of Jews who are liquidating their properties so they can emigrate. Mr. Benchetrit, an Israeli officer working with the Alliance Agency, is prompting the Jews to leave Morocco, pretending they aren't safe anymore. Mrs Attar is reluctantly leaving Morocco for Israel, following her son and his wife and kids. As they are leaving, she feels uprooted from her homeland. When Mama Hanna, Ruth's mother, is attacked after a synagogue service, Ruth and Henri decide that it may be the time for them to leave also...

Cast

* Marc Samuel as Henri Elkaim * Rachid El Ouali as Brahim *

Souad Amidou Souad Amidou (born 4 July 1959) is a French actress. Biography She is the daughter of the actor Amidou. Her career started working with her father on the short film '' Le thé à la menthe'' in 1963. Then she was chosen by Claude Lelouch to ...

as Ruth Elkaim * Hafida Kassoui as Fatima, Brahim's wive *

Nezha Regragui Nezha Regragui ( ar, نزهة الركراكي) is a Moroccan theatre, TV and film actress. Regragui has participated in several plays and films, including '' Goodbye Mothers''. She is also notable for being married to the singer Bachir Abdou an ...

as Shoshana Bouzaglo * Rachel Huet as Eliane Bouzaglo * Tarik Mounim as Mehdi Benchekroun * Salah Dizane as Mr. Benchekroun * Malika Hamaoui as Mrs Benchekroun * Christian Drillaud as Mr. Benchetrit * Ahmed Alaoui as Mr. Ouaknine * Amina Rachid as Mrs Attar * Fatima Regragui as Mama Hanna * Omar Chenboud as Rabbi Braham

References

External links

{{IMDb title, id=tt1300562 2008 films Films about Jews and Judaism 2000s French-language films Films about Moroccan Jews 2000s Arabic-language films 2008 drama films Films about forced migration 2008 multilingual films Moroccan multilingual films Moroccan drama films