The plot of "Fata Morgana" is very simple and quite easy to go through it: A young couple lost in the desert is helped by a strange and mysterious man. What is not that simple is to understand some of its profundities or to understand what really moves the characters of this movie.
German couple Daniel and Laura (played by Matthias Schweighöfer and Marie Zielcke respectively) entered in a jeep and went to the desert (it's not said where but somewhere in Africa I think) live a little adventure. They got lost, the car stopped working, and they walk into the desert trying to find the road where they followed earlier. But a stranger (Jean-Hughes Anglade) appears and helps him with the car and taking them to the road.
What makes this stranger character so peculiar is that he almost doesn't speak to the couple; he can't seem to answer any direct question is asked to him; not even his own name is presented in the film and the irony is that he's credited as "The Friend" but to quote his own words "I don't have any friends". He doesn't even try to become friend of the couple. When Daniel wants to film a simple recordation of his own time in the desert and he turns the camera at him he only replies that he doesn't want to be filmed and that's it. His intentions doesn't seem to be right thinks Daniel; Laura thinks that this strange man might help them as long as they help him too. Even without knowing this guy very well the couple follow him (he has a motorcycle and the couple go with the car) but every moment and every minute something might happen and they don't know what. But one thing is certain: this haunting man are not leading them back to the road.
This is a very good road movie with a lot of anticipated tension, simple dialogs and a great dreadful and suffocating scenery. But here comes some things that might disappoint. It's not a menacing movie like "Dead Calm" where you know that the third person is going to do something terrible each second goes by. It doesn't give answers to the audience of who the stranger is and his motivations and ambitions. He just happens to be there. Doubt is the engine of the movie so if you don't like this kind of perspective in films don't watch it.
Another doubtful thing was the title and perhaps it might have something to do with Jean-Hughes Anglade's character at the end of the movie (for those who doesn't know Fata Morgana is a mirage).
The trio of actors are very great, most particular the male actors (I didn't liked the character and the performance of the female actress).
Giving 8 stars out of 10 because of the lack of answers (ok the director and the writer wanted to instigate its audience and sometimes that works very well) and because it's a movie that's almost like a mirage itself (Ironic!): when you watch it for the first time it's interesting, beautiful but when you give a real look to it or watch several times the good thing disappears or it becomes less interesting.
German couple Daniel and Laura (played by Matthias Schweighöfer and Marie Zielcke respectively) entered in a jeep and went to the desert (it's not said where but somewhere in Africa I think) live a little adventure. They got lost, the car stopped working, and they walk into the desert trying to find the road where they followed earlier. But a stranger (Jean-Hughes Anglade) appears and helps him with the car and taking them to the road.
What makes this stranger character so peculiar is that he almost doesn't speak to the couple; he can't seem to answer any direct question is asked to him; not even his own name is presented in the film and the irony is that he's credited as "The Friend" but to quote his own words "I don't have any friends". He doesn't even try to become friend of the couple. When Daniel wants to film a simple recordation of his own time in the desert and he turns the camera at him he only replies that he doesn't want to be filmed and that's it. His intentions doesn't seem to be right thinks Daniel; Laura thinks that this strange man might help them as long as they help him too. Even without knowing this guy very well the couple follow him (he has a motorcycle and the couple go with the car) but every moment and every minute something might happen and they don't know what. But one thing is certain: this haunting man are not leading them back to the road.
This is a very good road movie with a lot of anticipated tension, simple dialogs and a great dreadful and suffocating scenery. But here comes some things that might disappoint. It's not a menacing movie like "Dead Calm" where you know that the third person is going to do something terrible each second goes by. It doesn't give answers to the audience of who the stranger is and his motivations and ambitions. He just happens to be there. Doubt is the engine of the movie so if you don't like this kind of perspective in films don't watch it.
Another doubtful thing was the title and perhaps it might have something to do with Jean-Hughes Anglade's character at the end of the movie (for those who doesn't know Fata Morgana is a mirage).
The trio of actors are very great, most particular the male actors (I didn't liked the character and the performance of the female actress).
Giving 8 stars out of 10 because of the lack of answers (ok the director and the writer wanted to instigate its audience and sometimes that works very well) and because it's a movie that's almost like a mirage itself (Ironic!): when you watch it for the first time it's interesting, beautiful but when you give a real look to it or watch several times the good thing disappears or it becomes less interesting.