May 18, 2026 8:51pm PT

‘Strawberries’ Review: Moroccan Women in Spain’s Agricultural Industry Are Exploited by a Callous System in a Potent but Flawed Drama

Premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Laïla Marrakchi's film aims to shake up the often formulaic narrative of exploited migrant labor, and while it manages through a flawed protagonist making ill-judged decisions, there’s a narrative imbalance that works against the film’s overall strengths.

Jay Weissberg

Plus Icon

Jay Weissberg

Latest

‘Strawberries’ Review: Moroccan Women in Spain’s Agricultural Industry Are Exploited by a Callous System in a Potent but Flawed Drama

2 hours ago

‘The Station’ Review: A Long-Gestating, Female-Centered Project Set in Yemen That’s Well Worth the Wait

2 days ago

‘Viva’ Review: A Breast Cancer Survivor Runs From a Potential Recurrence by Embracing Life

5 days ago

See All

'Strawberries' Courtesy Lucky Number

Stories about exploited migrant workers have become something of a mainstay in international cinema, rightly so given the tenacious hold this form of indenture — or worse — continues to have on the Global North. They also make for good cinema: who doesn’t want to root for people oppressed by the henchmen of rampant capitalism? Laïla Marrakchi’s “Strawberries” seeks to shake up the formula by making her protagonist a more flawed, at times even unlikable character who generates ambivalent feelings in the viewer, yet the script doesn’t delve deep enough into her bad choices. Subtlety is good, but a drop more insight wouldn’t go amiss. In addition, the extreme naïveté of the Spanish do-gooder lawyer is an out-of-place cliché in a film whose cinematic potency and multifaceted performances testify to Marrakchi’s strengths.

'Strawberries' Review: Moroccan Women in Spain’s Agricultural Industry Are Exploited by a Callous System in a Potent but Flawed Drama