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      Raja

      2003 1h 55m Drama List
      71% 14 Reviews Tomatometer 47% 500+ Ratings Audience Score A middle-aged Frenchman (Pascal Greggory) becomes obsessed with a 19-year-old Arabian (Najat Benssallem) who has a troubled past. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (25) audience reviews
      Audience Member A Moroccan girl living in Marrakesh enters into a common agreement to clean the home of a Frenchman. She will be paid a year's wages for seven days of maid service that includes much more than fluffing the pillows. However, each is reluctant to consummate the arrangement just as sexual sparks begin to fly, because both sense a much deeper connection between them. As they begin to sort out their feelings, they seem unable to assure the other (and themselves) of doubts about the other's motives. Is he simply using her, or is she actually the one trying to take advantage of him? Just as one is assured, doubt rises in the other. She doubts him when he wants to marry her, but then is dismayed when she is betrothed to another. Amazing, constant tension weave through the film, as they maddeningly attempt to sort out their true motives and understand their love for one another. Psychological thriller, no romance here. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Creepy on a number of levels. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Slow, boring, pretentious. Basically your average French movie. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Can love come from someone who perpetuates the tragedy... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Imagine the long and troublesome French colonial involvment in North Africa told as a dysfunctional love-hate relationship between an older jaded Frenchman with a villa and a young, uneducated former prostitute that he hires to tend his gardens, and you will have a pretty good idea what this film is doing. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Very peculiar but very good film Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Photos

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      Raja

      A scene from the film "Raja." A scene from the film "Raja." A scene from the film "Raja." Raja (2003) Raja (2003) Raja (2003) Raja (2003) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (14) Critics Reviews
      Lisa Rose Newark Star-Ledger An unsettling look at Third World politics in the guise of a love story. Apr 1, 2004 Full Review Lou Lumenick New York Post Extremely well acted, though the direction by Jacques Doillon is on the leisurely side. Rated: 2/4 Mar 26, 2004 Full Review Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News There's little to enjoy in this unsettling tale, but Doillan's unblinking depiction of manipulation and desperation stays with you long after the characters make the deals that seal their unjust fates. Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 26, 2004 Full Review Dan Sallitt Senses of Cinema Depicting both French and Moroccan culture with sympathy and wit, Raja uses the language barrier between the would-be lovers as an excuse to throw up a network of perpendicular commentary. Oct 17, 2018 Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews refreshing with its brutal and emotionally raw honesty Rated: B Feb 25, 2005 Full Review Daniel Kasman d+kaz. intelligent movie reviews Rated: B Aug 7, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A middle-aged Frenchman (Pascal Greggory) becomes obsessed with a 19-year-old Arabian (Najat Benssallem) who has a troubled past.
      Director
      Jacques Doillon
      Screenwriter
      Jacques Doillon
      Production Co
      France 3 Cinéma, Les Films du Losange
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Arabic
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Feb 15, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 55m
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Digital