‘The Unknown Saint’, a movie by Alaa Eddine Aljem, is about a thief (played by Younes Bouab) who buries a bag of money before going to jail. When he returns to the burial spot after serving his term, he finds the place converted to a mausoleum dedicated to an unknown saint.

As the thief waits for his catch, a series of subplots and character sketches roll themselves out. 

The shrine of the Unknown Saint is set in a parched, rocky and deserted Moroccan village, miles from any human habitation. The village owes its existence to the unknown saint’s shrine and its economy sustains itself by the trickle of tourists who come to pay their respects. The movie drags as it tries to portray the stillness of the place. The director is economical with the number of characters he introduces. Yet, whenever one is introduced, the screen comes alive. 

The most entertaining of the characters is the doctor-nurse duo. The former is young and sincere but is frustrated by his patients, all women, who report symptoms that don’t seem to conform to any scientifically established disease. His experienced nurse (played by Hassan Ben Badida) clears the mystery by saying that women visit the clinic to huddle together and escape the monotony of their daily lives. He also advises the doctor to prescribe a harmless pill (most probably paracetamol) that comforts and assuages their fears, a practice the nurse has been following all along. The doctor tries hard to hide his disappointment over wasting his skills.

Other characters include the security guard who manages to prevent the thief from entering the shrine. A widower, he prefers his German Shepard to his son. This is not the only tenuous father-son relationship that the movie showcases. The neighbouring village has a young man who wants to migrate to greener pastures, free from the lacklustre life in his village. He meets with opposition from his father who believes that praying to the ‘Unknown Saint’ is enough to bring luck. 

The village barber (played by Ahmed Yarziz) doubles up as a dentist. Lively and full of energy, his shop is the chosen haunt of the men who are not in a hurry to get their beards or hair trimmed.

The long wait for things to change seems to pay off as each character embraces a new beginning. For example, the doctor’s blank look turns into a half-inch smile when he realises that his skills come in handy for the treatment of animals. Such twists are also seen in the lives of the security guard, the barber and others. The thief deserves credit for triggering this happy chain of events but, at a personal level, he is left high and dry.

Time stands still in the village. While the movie ought to merely imply the sluggishness associated with life in the village, Alaa Eddine Aljem allows this sluggishness to slow the movie down.

An unusual feature in ‘The Unknown Saint’ is its emphasis on male characters. It is puzzling that not even one female character assumes importance and that all female characters are painted in the same brush.

If you are looking for drama, The Unknown Saint is not for you. But if you are a patient watcher like me, the smile will not leave your face.