You are here:

The Damned Don't Cry

Name: The Damned Don't Cry
Director: Fyzal Boulifa
Released: 2023
Duration: 110 min

Representation Score

6.3/10

Good

2023

Director

Fyzal Boulifa

Runtime

110 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The Damned Don't Cry is a character-driven exploration of social displacement that prioritizes North African lived experiences. By centering a Maghrebi narrative, the film successfully challenges Anglo-centric storytelling and provides a significant role in driving the story to its protagonists. The film's strength lies in its subversion of traditional social hierarchies. Fatima-Zahra’s journey from a subject of scandal to a driver of her own destiny offers a progressive look at female autonomy within a specific cultural context. However, the film lacks visible representation for LGBTQ+ identities and characters with disabilities. While the focus on maternal bonds is central, these specific demographic markers remain absent from the narrative.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Damned Don't Cry have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include explicit representations of LGBTQ+ identities or dynamics that go beyond assuming everyone is straight. The story focuses on the relationship between Fatima-Zahra and Selim, emphasizing their maternal-filial bond.

How does The Damned Don't Cry portray gender?

Good

Fatima-Zahra is a strong female protagonist who drives the plot through her struggle for independence. She challenges traditional expectations of female submission by trying to escape social scandal.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Damned Don't Cry?

Excellent

Set in Tangier, the film centers on North African/Maghrebi culture. It gives a significant role in driving the story to characters of color, moving away from a Western-centric perspective.

How does The Damned Don't Cry represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques rigid communal moralities by focusing on characters navigating systems that punish non-conformity. It explores the tension between individual survival and traditional social institutions.

Does The Damned Don't Cry include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no indication of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong North African cultural focus that avoids the Western perspective.
Challenges traditional gender roles through a highly influential female protagonist.
Offers a nuanced critique of rigid communal and religious social structures.

Limited or Absent

Lacks visible representation for LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight dynamics.
Does not include characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Fatima-Zahra and her teenage son Selim move from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she’s caught up in. When Selim discovers the truth about their past, Fatima-Zahra vows to make a fresh start. In Tangier, new opportunities promise the legitimacy they each crave but not without pushing the volatile mother-son relationship to the breaking point.

How are these scores produced? →