The Cave

Description

Set against the dramatic peaks of Algeria’s mountains, Cherif, 50s, returns to the village he left decades earlier. We see several missed calls from his brother, Omar, and at first, we think he is there to reconnect with him, but then the taxi pulls up outside of a graveyard. Cherif wastes no time, rolls up his sleeves, and digs up the grave of his long-lost love Yasmine who died during the Algerian War of Independence. He finds his way inside the cave where he and Yasmine used to meet in secret and opens a copy of Shams al-Ma’arif, a Sufi grimoire of esoteric spirituality, feared and forbidden in the Islamic world. We see Yasmine’s name written inside the corner of the book. Flashbacks reveal brief glimpses of Yasmine’s past, loved by both brothers, harassed by the French soldiers, demonised by the villagers, understood by none.Using the grimoire, Cherif recites incantations that seem to awaken the cave and reveal its dark history. The spirits of Algerian men, women, and children spring up all around him. Their coughing and wheezing juxtaposed with the booming voice of French soldiers, hints that this was once the site of colonial terror. Cherif remains oblivious to these apparitions, his mind fixated on his love. He opens his eyes to the sight of Yasmine, exactly as he remembers her. For a moment, they connect as if no time has passed, but that bliss is quickly disturbed when she begins suffering violent visions of her death. The intensity of these visions make her restless, begging for answers Cherif refuses to give. Her agitation is coupled with something more sinister as Yasmine begins to morph, becoming less human and more feral. After witnessing one of Yasmine’s primal episodes, Cherif leaves the cave to gather resources from Omar’s house. There, Omar corners Cherif, demanding answers, and Cherif admonishes him for their family’s allegiance to the French during the war.Cherif returns to the cave to find Yasmine gone. He races back into the village and sees her with Omar outside his house. He drags her back, but this encounter makes the past resurface. The cave forces Cherif to relive the truth, making him, and us, witnesses of the night Yasmine died. A young Cherif and Omar find Yasmine in the cave at night with two French soldiers. The soldiers restrain the brothers and toy with them before forcing Omar to assault Yasmine as Cherif watches. The vision ends, leaving Yasmine collapsed, sobbing. Cherif embraces her, but when her sobs turn animalistic, he realises the past cannot be rewritten and suffocates her. Desolate and bereft, Cherif leaves the cave, passing by the same ghosts of the cave’s haunted past from the beginning of his journey. At the edge of the cliff, he takes a decisive step.

Biblical Connection

We are adapting the story of King Saul and the Witch of Endor, setting it in the context of post-war Algeria with Cherif being Saul, the book being the Witch of Endor, and Yasmine being Samuel. Just as Saul banishes the mediums and necromancers from Israel after Samuel’s death, Cherif admonishes Yasmine for practising dark magic. However, like Saul, he goes back on his word and resurrects her, using magic forbidden by his religion. Made desperate by the consequences of the war, his family’s allegiance to the French, and unable to accept Yasmine’s death, Cherif seeks the book’s powers. He selfishly brings her back, hoping to change the past and right the wrongs of his family’s betrayal of their own people. However, bringing her back only forces her to relive the trauma of her life and horrific death, paralleling Samuel’s indignation at Saul when he asks, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Ultimately, both Saul and Cherif meet their demise when they attempt to play God. Their stories teach us that we must live with our regret and uncertainty, attempting to fix the past or dictate the future will only usher in more pain.