A mimosa is either a type of flowery legume that resides in tropical climates or a drink comprised of champagne and orange juice. I’m not sure how either term applies to an Arabic film that takes place in the mountains with very sparse vegetation.

An old Sheikh is nearing the end of his life. He wants to be buried near his ancestors, but there’s a mountain range between here and there. They could go around the mountains, but that would take longer, and he wants to get there soon, so he pushes for the caravan to take the rough and dangerous trip through the mountains. It doesn’t matter much to him since he’s being carried and he probably won’t survive the trip anyway. And he doesn’t. He dies pretty early into the trip, and most of the caravan decides to turn abandon their journey. They entrust two men, Ahmed and Saïd, to carry the body the rest of the way, and everyone else goes home. And Ahmed and Saïd are only in it because they’re getting paid, and they would’ve just buried the body in the mountains if not for Shakib, a young, inexperienced, naïve, and quite possibly mentally handicapped holy man who has been sent to accompany the body. So they push on through the mountains.

It’s a pretty film, even when the visuals are mostly craggy rocks and weathered people. It’s slowly paced, but that’s completely appropriate for their trek, and at only 96 minutes, it usually doesn’t feel like it’s too long. It’s presented in three chapters, each of which seems to be named in accordance with a prayer position, but I’m not sure those chapter names necessarily line up with the content. It takes some unexpected turns, which mostly make it all the more endearing. Unfortunately, the final scene of the final chapter, which doesn’t seem to have much relation to the rest of the film and doesn’t seem to clarify or add anything to it, feels unnecessary and unnecessarily cryptic. It doesn’t go so far as to ruin the experience, but it left me with an odd feeling of confusion that did detract a bit from the rest of the experience.