A vibey Moroccan music documentary about the popular group Nass-El Ghiwane that is a mix of invigorating performances, behind-the-scenes, and colonial history.

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The first-ever film to be restored as part of the World Cinema Project, led by director Martin Scorsese back in 2007, Trances is a work of many elements, featuring the immensely popular Moroccan music group, Nass-El Ghiwane, who were the rage with the Arabic diaspora in the ‘70s and ‘80s. 

It is at once a ‘concert film’ with behind-the-scenes of the group in conversation, recalling somewhat Scorsese’s own The Last Waltz (1978). 

However, Trances also operates as a rather free-form portrait of not just the group, but also a snapshot of life in Casablanca as we see scenes of daily existence (e.g. street shops, kids cooling themselves under communal taps, etc.), as well as a sequence that goes into Moroccan colonial history, albeit in the form of someone telling a dark story about a woman and Portuguese soldiers. 

“It is our fault that we have no unified language or rhythm.”

Storytelling and the recollecting of traumatic history, in fact, are significant as Nass-El Ghiwane takes pride in expressing the woes of being marginalised through lyrics that are not afraid to call for working-class solidarity and call out prejudice and abusive power. 

Much of the concert footage shows an almost bare-bones stage as the musicians get the crowd into a frenzy.  We see security officers containing thousands of spectators, even if random fans would spill out onto the stage. 

A kind of controlled chaos emanates from these live performances and this very much captures the vibe of Ahmed El Maanouni’s music documentary.  It is invigorating, wild and wholly cultural—a wonderful time capsule of a bygone past as captured by the sounds of rhythmic poetry and unbridled creative freedom.

Grade: B+

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Promo Clip: