Ghost Trail

From Cannes Critics’ Week, this portrait of justice-seeking Syrians in European exile is a deftly calibrated spy thriller propelled by stand-out performances.

In the midst of Syria’s civil war, Hamid (Adam Bessa, Extraction) loses everything: his wife, his child, his job, his life. Tortured as a political prisoner and dumped in the desert to die, he survives and ends up in Strasbourg on the French–German border. By day, he works at a construction site, but by night, he logs in to a multiplayer videogame that serves as a secret meeting space for a collective seeking out Syrian war criminals in Europe. When he’s asked to tail the chemistry student Sami (Tawfeek Barhom, Boy From Heaven, MIFF 2022), Hamid thinks he’s found his captor. Is Sami who Hamid thinks he is? Or is Hamid confusing justice with personal vengeance?

In his fiction feature debut, photographer turned filmmaker Jonathan Millet offers an artful riff on the paranoiac spy thriller – one that has garnered acclaim for its sharply crafted tone, mood, and command of plotting and pace. With its elegant compositions, storytelling restraint and elusive air of mystery, this account of displacement and trauma’s after-effects introduces a remarkable new directorial talent and showcases two ascendant leading men in peak form.

“A stirring, expertly judged thriller powered by a pair of blazing performances … It boasts a bracing sense of craftsmanship and purpose both behind and in front of the camera.” – Hollywood Reporter