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The Mother of All Lies

Play trailer Poster for The Mother of All Lies 2024 1h 36m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 37 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Young Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir wants to know why she only has one photograph from her childhood, and why the girl in the picture isn't even her. She decides to explore the past and its mysteries by creating a handmade replica of the Casablanca neighborhood where she grew up. There, she begins to interrogate the tales her mother, father, and grandmother tell about their home and their country. Slowly, she starts to unravel the layers of deception and intentional forgetting that have shaped her life. The truth is hard to face, but in this sometimes surreal nonfiction film, El Moudir begins to draw what is real to the surface.
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The Mother of All Lies

Critics Reviews

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Monica Castillo RogerEbert.com 09/06/2024
3/4
El Moudir strikes an impressive balance between rediscovering the past and unearthing the emotions packed away for decades. Go to Full Review Gregory Nussen Slant Magazine 08/31/2024
3/4
Through her use of recreation, Asmae El Moudir suggests that the act of documentary filmmaking can turn historical truths into fiction, in which everyone becomes an active participant. Go to Full Review Phuong Le Guardian 07/03/2024
4/5
The delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony brilliantly evokes the personal and collective trauma that stem from Morocco’s “Years of Lead” -- a period of state brutality under Hassan II’s dictatorial rule. Go to Full Review Erick Estrada Cinegarage Oct 14
As a documentary, as a genre, it's a very interesting exercise. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Jaylan Salah InSession Film 02/25/2025
A
The Mother of All Lies is a swan song, sorrowful but inevitable. It crushes the soul but does so in an aesthetic environment of beauty. Go to Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site 01/13/2025
The filmmaker’s approach is unusual, to a certain extent perhaps forced upon her by circumstances. For political reasons, it remains difficult to confront the crimes committed by Hassan II (whose son, Mohammed VI, is the nation’s present ruler). Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Moody C @MoodyC 09/12/2024 It’s an important story to tell with some insight to psychological trauma and its impacts namely suppression of agonizing memories and roadblocks of moving forward afterwards but it doesn’t mean this is compelling filmmaking, and it did not hold my attention throughout as I was just hoping it end alredy. You know ending will be bittersweet and surely tug the heartstrings and it certainly did but movie as a whole needed more work. See more Maria L @RT88290991 05/19/2024 Deeply intimate and personal yet never veering into manipulative or egocentric. I was so grateful to see this family, this culture, this moment in history through these eyes. Wonderful film with incredible, yet subtle strength, affording a magical reward to those with the patience and kindness to watch and listen. What I loved most was how confident this filmmaker was in her approach to telling the story and how trusting that her audience would follow along on this unconventional narrative and cinematic ride. See more Read all reviews
The Mother of All Lies

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Cast & Crew

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Asmae El Moudir

Director

Asmae ElMoudir

Director

Ouardia Zorkani

Actor

Asmae El Moudir

Writer

Asmae El Moudir

Producer

Hatem Nachi

Cinematographer

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The Mother of All Lies

The Mother of All Lies (2023) The Mother of All Lies (2023) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Young Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir wants to know why she only has one photograph from her childhood, and why the girl in the picture isn't even her. She decides to explore the past and its mysteries by creating a handmade replica of the Casablanca neighborhood where she grew up. There, she begins to interrogate the tales her mother, father, and grandmother tell about their home and their country. Slowly, she starts to unravel the layers of deception and intentional forgetting that have shaped her life. The truth is hard to face, but in this sometimes surreal nonfiction film, El Moudir begins to draw what is real to the surface.
Director
Asmae El Moudir, Asmae ElMoudir
Producer
Asmae El Moudir, Asmae ElMoudir
Screenwriter
Asmae El Moudir, Asmae ElMoudir
Distributor
Outsider Pictures
Production Co
Insight Films, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Arabic
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 6, 2024, Limited
Runtime
1h 36m
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