Luzzu (2021)

Malta is not a country that has figured prominently in world cinema, which is part of what makes Luzzu (2021) such a curious and worthwhile arrival. The luzzu itself is a traditional Maltese fishing boat, brightly painted and centuries old in its design, and the film takes its title and its soul from that vessel. At its centre is a fisherman named Jesmark, torn between the life his family has worked for generations and the economic pressures that are quietly making that life impossible. It is a story about inheritance, compromise, and what people do when the honest path closes off in front of them, set against the harbours and open water of an island most filmgoers will never have seen on screen.

The film is the debut feature of Alex Camilleri, a Maltese-American director who co-wrote the script and shot on location in Malta with a largely non-professional cast. That choice is not a gimmick. Jesmark Scicluna, who plays the lead, is a working fisherman in real life, and much of the supporting cast share similar roots in the fishing communities the film depicts. The production was handled by a small group of companies including Noruz Films and Pellikola, working at the modest scale that this kind of social-realist drama requires. The approach, rooted in the tradition of naturalistic European cinema, draws comparisons to the work of the Dardenne brothers, though Camilleri brings his own unhurried rhythm to proceedings. For those interested in how drama films from outside the usual English-language circuit can use intimate settings to tell universal stories, it sits comfortably alongside something like Mustang or the family-centred generational drama of Yi Yi, both of which have been reviewed here before.

The cast is small and largely unknown to international audiences, which works entirely in the film's favour. Jesmark Scicluna carries the central role with the kind of unforced presence that trained actors sometimes spend careers trying to achieve. Michela Farrugia plays his girlfriend, and David Scicluna, Frida Cauchi and Uday K Maclean fill out the world around him in a way that feels lived-in rather than assembled for a camera. The whole production has a texture that comes from genuine familiarity with its subject, from the salt on the boats to the conversations in Maltese, a language rarely heard in cinema at all. It is, in short, a polished but unremarkable piece of work technically, one that earns its distinction through sincerity rather than spectacle. Alongside other recent drama releases covered on this site, such as All That's Left of You, it is part of a broader run of films from the 2020s that have prioritised character and place over plot mechanics.

A-Z World Movie Tour Malta Exactly the kind of quietly powerful, hyper-local story my world cinema journey lives for. Luzzu paints a vivid, grounded portrait of life as a traditional fisherman in Malta, a world most of us would never otherwise see. The coastal landscapes are shot with real care, and there’s beauty in the simplicity of everyday life on the water. Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. Jesmark (played brilliantly by Jesmark Scicluna, a real-life fisherman) is the emotional core, worn down by tradition, economics, and personal responsibility, yet trying to do right by his family. His performance is raw, understated, and completely authentic. It’s not always an easy watch, deliberately paced and low on dramatic fireworks, but it’s honest and immersive. Doesn’t break any cinematic ground, but offers something rare: a respectful, intimate look at a vanishing way of life.

Films like this are exactly why I keep the world cinema journey going. There is something genuinely valuable in sitting with a story that has no interest in selling you a version of Malta you might find on a travel brochure, and instead just lets you watch a man trying to hold his life together with increasingly worn-out rope. I find myself thinking about Jesmark for a while after the credits roll, which is more than a lot of bigger films manage. It is quiet, it is specific, and for my money those are two underrated qualities. Sometimes the smallest boats carry the most weight.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2021  | Watched: 2025-07-16

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Luzzu (2021) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
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Related on Movies With Macca

More from the 2020s: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · The Long Walk (2025) · Americana (2023)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)