Kasbah

Mariano Barroso, who wrote and directed "Kasbah" shows moments of great inspiration in the way he tells his story. He sets the film in Morocco, an exotic destination that has an air of mystery and adventure, as it follows the disappearance of a young Spanish woman who has come to the country for a vacation.

Mario, the man in charge of Spanish-Moroccan enterprise, is getting ready for going back to Spain. At this point, a fax arrives in which he is told the daughter of his boss will be arriving on the ferry from Algeciras. Since this is an unexpected turn of events for him, he is late in getting to meet Laura. On the road, Laura decides to race Mario and he kills a sheep on the road, something that looks like an omen for bad luck.

What follows is a road movie as Laura and her car disappear from a shopping trip to the Kasbah. There is absolutely no trace of the girl, but Ibrahim, a friendly man who knows a lot about the country, tells him whoever took the girl only wants to sell the car by taking it to Mauretania. At the same time, Victor, the father of the girl, who has arrived when told about the disappearance, engages a local Spanish butcher, Rodrigo, to go in pursuit of his daughter.

There is a another young woman, Alix, who had arrived in the same ferry with Laura, who is taking a tour of the country. Mario, who follows Ibrahim advice by going after Laura, meets Alix along the way after a horrible encounter she had experienced with Rodrigo.

"Kasbah" is entertaining, but it's predictable. We know where Mr. Barroso is taking us and how it all will end. Ernesto Alterio is good as Mario. Natalia Verbeke is seen as Alix, and Elena Ballesteros is the lost Laura. Jose Sancho plays the evil Rodrigo.

The film shows some interesting sights of Morocco.