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This highly relevant documentary looks at the elections held in Tunisia in October 2011 from the ground level. Director Jaime Otero Romani and his crew follow the organizers of the nascent political parties, many of whom were outlawed under the dictatorship of Prime Minister Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who was forced out of power earlier that year in the first blossoming of the Arab Spring.
It's exciting to watch democracy take root for this time in a society that has only known political repression in recent decades. But it's also harrowing and sobering, as the different factions splinter and clash, each convinced their vision of the country's future is the right one.
Among the people we follow is Omar Ouled Ahmed, regional head of the Ennahda party, which is aligned with Islamic rule. While he and his other leaders, such as Rashid Ghanushi, say the right things about liberty and respecting others' views, it soon becomes clear their idea of freedom means you are free to worship exactly in the way they deem fit.
This urge comes into sharp focus when the private television station Nessma broadcasts the film "Persepolis," a 2007 Oscar nominee about a young Iranian girl's struggle to find identity in her post-revolutionary homeland. Because the film seems to depict a representation of Allah, forbidden in some Muslim interpretations, the Ennahda group stages huge street rallies, denouncing secularism and any perceived affront to their faith.
Ahmed Najib Chebbi, leader of the more left-wing Progressive Democratic Party, operates as something of an adversary to the Islamist parties, promising reforms and freedom of expression. The camera follows around various media figures as they report on the latest developments, including a radio station that seems to operate as the capital's intellectual cerebral cortex.
Ramy Sghayer also emerges, a charismatic young activist who sees elections as a "science" sure to cure Tunisia's ills. Later, when accusations of vote fraud surface, he vows to stay in the streets until injustice is rooted out.
There's also a mesmerizing (and entirely too brief) sequence about a group of young Tunisian feminists who form the Democrat Women Association. Ostensibly, they are not promoting any party, but their ideals of equality between the genders put them at odds with fundamentalist groups that see the man as the head of every household.
Sometimes the action goes on too long, as the focus lingers excessively over a group of people chattering away on their opinions without a real sense of consequence to the conversation. But "A Common Enemy" puts the audience right in the heart of the Jasmine Revolution. It's like watching an entire country reborn in front of us.
3.5 Yaps