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Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You

Name: Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You
Director: Éric Hurtado, Marc Hurtado
Released: 2012
Duration: 59 min

Representation Score

5.7/10

Fair

2012

Director

Éric Hurtado, Marc Hurtado

Runtime

59 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film stands out by focusing on non-Western cultural traditions, effectively shifting the narrative away from a Western-centric viewpoint to prioritize the experiences of the Jajouka community. However, the narrative's emphasis on a male-dominated brotherhood leads to a lack of representation for LGBTQ+ identities and gender diversity. Additionally, the film does not challenge traditional gender hierarchies or elevate female roles within the story.

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Category Breakdown

Does Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on a ritualistic brotherhood of musicians without addressing LGBTQ+ identities or critiquing the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You portray gender?

Fair

The narrative emphasizes traditional male social structures and communal rites, without challenging gender hierarchies or elevating female roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You?

Excellent

The film highlights a North African community in Morocco's Rif mountains, prioritizing the ability to act of local musicians and villagers, thus disrupting the Eurocentric perspective.

How does Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film centers on non-Western spiritual practices and communal traditions, presenting them as sophisticated and essential to the narrative.

Does Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities being included or depicted in the film.

Present on Screen

Highlights a non-Western, North African community and indigenous musical traditions.
Prioritizes local ability to act over Western observation.
Presents non-Western spiritual practices as vital and sophisticated.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation or engagement with LGBTQ+ identities.
Focuses heavily on male-dominated social structures, limiting gender diversity.
Does not challenge traditional gender hierarchies or elevate women's ability to drive the story.

Official Synopsis

In Jajouka, a village nestled in Morocco’s Rif mountains, magic rites accompanied by a peculiar music performed by “the Master Musicians of Jajouka” (a brotherhood of musicians) are commonplace. Acclaimed musicians Eric and Marc Hurtado, founders of the group Etant Donnés, explore these rituals and legends in fascinating complicity with the master musicians and other villagers of Jajouka. Weaving documentary and fiction, the Hurtados eschew an investigation of the healing power and spiritual transcendence of Jajouka; instead, they have created a film so riveting and poetic that it transposes the experience of trance and emotional release onto the viewer. In Arabic, French; English subtitles. 59 min.

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