Black Tea

There are few sights more shocking than a talented veteran filmmaker totally whiffing: That rare surprise occurred with director Abderrahmane Sissako’s jumbled and misjudged romance “Black Tea.”

For all its comforting warmth, Sissako’s film ultimately lacks the deeper complexity of its namesake, even if watching it is often as soothing as sipping a freshly brewed cup.

However appealing the blend sometimes is, this wildly eccentric film ultimately feels a few leaves short of a pot.

Instead of taking us in, Black Tea gently pushes us away, even if the world depicted is certainly one worth exploring.

The film aims for woozy sensualism but falls way short on the ambient richness and X-factor chemistry required to sell such an essentially confected exercise.

Meandering, lethargic and undercooked. The plot has too many underdeveloped subplots lacking emotional depth,

cinematically soothing tale produced which skirts across the socio-political periphery , embracing romance in its journey with its soulfully captivating tone.

'Black Tea' resorts excessively to a set of commonplaces of Asian cinema aimed at Western audiences, instead of developing its own personality from a non-Eurocentric multicultural perspective. [Full review in Spanish]

A film that escapes narrative conventions... [Full review in Spanish]

Depicts only the surface of an idea, varnished to the point of nausea, and stripped of character in the process.