The Season of Men (, translit. Maussim al-rijal, ) is a 2000 French-Tunisian drama film directed by Moufida Tlatli. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The title of the film, The Season of Men, refers to the one month out of the year that the women's husbands come to the Island of Djerba.

Cast

Plot

An 18-year-old on the island Djerba, Aïcha, is married to Said, who works in Tunis for much of the year. Before she can join him in Tunis, Said asks that she give him a son. On the island Djerba, Aïcha lives under the rule of her mother-in-law, with a few other wives, while their husbands work elsewhere. Aïcha eventually gives birth to a son and is allowed to move to Tunis with her husband. However, her son Aziz has developmental problems and is likely autistic, which causes Saïd to reject him. Aïcha returns to Djerba, this time with her son Aziz and her two adult daughters. The film uses extended flashbacks between Aïcha and her young daughters living in Djerba prior to the birth of Aziz and then scenes in the present, where Aziz is about eight, just before she moves back to Djerba. The film ends with Aïcha and Aziz working together on the loom, making tapestries that Aïcha sells. The film ends with Aïcha's younger daughter Emna leaving, which Aïcha and Aziz live together in Djerba.

Major characters