Mirage

A fascinating visual exploration of Dubai, an artificial city that arose in the middle of the desert, and its inhabitants, often from elsewhere, in an atmosphere where time seems to stand still. The camera, via tracking shots that take the audience into the city but also the dunes, films nowhere being transformed into somewhere. The huge buildings that reach out to touch the sky rub shoulders with vast building sites, peopled by those who are constructing this 21st-century kingdom. The director observes this land of contrasts with insight, by making us see what cannot be seen: on the one hand, the privileged lifestyle of the rich locals or foreigners, between swimming pools and golf courses; on the other hand, the life of the labourers who are working hard to give form to this city, a mirror of the capitalist dream. An observation of contemporary society through a cinematographical voyage between sand and sun.

Jasmin Basic