The Damned Don't Cry (French: Les Damnés ne pleurent pas) is a 2022 French-Belgian-Moroccan drama film written and directed by Fyzal Boulifa.
That kind of push and pull really interested me.”[1] Boulifa borrowed the title "The Damned Don't Cry" for his film from a 1950 crime drama starring his screen idol Joan Crawford, where she portrays a mother who abandons her previous life after the death of her son.
She applauded the "full-blooded and lived in" performances and highlighted the film's score, describing it as effectively evoking the disharmony between mother and son, with a discordant duel between cello and harp.
[4] In his review for Variety, Guy Lodge praises The Damned Don't Cry as an exquisite film that remixes narrative components of classic noirs into a modern melodrama.
He notes the film's fusion of Hollywood melodrama, Arabic soap opera emotionalism, and European arthouse realism, creating a unique and queer narrative of social isolation and survival.
[10] In Time Out's review by Phil de Semlyen, Boulifa's talent in drawing naturalistic performances from first-time actors and creating a film that stands on its own merits, avoiding simplistic comparisons to other filmmakers, is commended.
De Semlyen concludes his review by praising the film for its compelling portrayal of life's unfairness and the lack of easy answers, thanks to the compassionate direction and impressive performances.
[13] French film critic Jean-Baptiste Morain [fr] praised Boulifa's non-judgmental portrayal of characters, noting that he avoids caricatures and presents them in various lights, both literally and metaphorically.