Film Talk, December 10

DIFF 2006 is a chance to see some of the best movies being made around the Gulf region.

There is a great selection of films from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait showing, covering aspects of life in those countries that are rarely shown, but which deserve to be discussed openly. Amina, by Yemeni director Khadija Al Salami, and the Saudi film Shadow of Silence, are both highly recommended.

Cinematic shadows

About 110 years after the first commercial movie show was presented, in Paris in 1895, we are finally able to greet the first two fiction movies that have been produced by Saudi Arabian companies and talents. These two movies have no chronological order. The first, Kaif al hal is in the Saudi dialect, and focuses on Saudi Arabian issues.

The second, Abdullah Al Muheisen's movie Shadow of Silence is presented in a new category created for this year's DIFF called Mosaic.

But has Saudi cinema really been absent from the movie scene? The truth is that producer and director Abdullah Al Muheisen has presented short movies and recorded once throughout the last 25 years. He is a brilliant, persistent and patient filmmaker.

In his new movie (and his first full-length feature) Shadow of Silence, a civilised hero responds to the seduction of the ruling government in an Arabic country, entering a centre to eliminate the civilised minds that are faithful to their country and replace them with the kind of thinking the ruling government wants. Later on, he rejects being passive. His only solution is to start a revolution against this restricted place, but the real salvation comes through his wife who has faith in him and other pure Bedouins.

The success of the director can be attributed to the fact that he went into an uncharted territory. The director was able to overcome technical difficulties. In his film, the director placed emphasis on capturing the essence of the place and atmosphere of the story, disregarding aesthetic value. Most of the actors and actresses blended well with the characters, taking inspiration from their own lives. Although some people have criticised the beginning (a police attack scene in a residential area), this part defines the type of movie the audience are going to see and the issue it addresses.
Greetings for three ladies

“Where is Al Hurra?'' one asks trying to emphasise the possibility of a well-known American TV station trying to shed light on one of the female candidates to enter the Kuwaiti parliament. How would the Kuwaiti women change an unchangeable situation? And the female candidate's words are encouraging but what about real life, real situations?

Walid Al Awadi has made a documentary that talks about reality and real issues using facts. For example, we all know from the start that the three female candidates did not win, but the movie tries to show us how and why they did not win. The three candidates are Nabeela Al Anjari, Rolla Al Dashti and Laila Al Rashid and they are all from the southern region of Kuwait, which is well-known for its conservative traditions. Why are they all from the same region and what about the other regions?

The answer is that they all express the whole situation there. The movie gives each candidate her own part and it also supports them. The beginning of the movie is very important because it discusses the situation and circumstances in which the three ladies live, and there, we find out that only one of them (Laila) is happily married. Nabeela Al Anjari is divorced and Rolla Al Dashti did not marry at all. However, Al Awadi refrains from emphasising on this and instead he highlights the social aspects and the daily life habits of the three characters. It also highlights how the husband (of Laila Al Rashid) was very happy and encourages his wife to get involved in the political domain. Moreover, it expresses how the three characters are truly willing to help their country and how they have the will to play a big role in politics. Their portrayal is so effective that the audience will be shocked when the results are declared.

Where man rules

The Yemeni director Khadija Al Salami talks about a common issue, which is symbolised in the movie by Amina, a young woman who is in prison because she has been accused of helping kill her husband. She spends her days waiting for her trial, and then and waiting to be hanged.

She tells her story, emphasising that she did not kill or help to kill her husband but is completely innocent. With disregard for whether she is innocent or not, the dominating traditions that surround Yemeni women are highlighted in a way that allows the director indirectly to accuse the woman.

The woman in this movie is set to be hanged from the minute she is born, because her freedom is taken away from her. Anything that happens to the family, the woman takes responsibility for.

Even if she is poor, the woman is obliged to marry even at a very young age. There is family hatred for girls as well as violence from husbands, brothers and fathers.

The director starts and ends the movie with a silent, male-oriented scene on treacherous mountains. This highlights how tough things can be whether from nature or from men themselves.

By going into the jail, the director shows us not only Amina and her son's situation there, but also that of lots of others from different nationalities. This makes the audience understand that there are lots of other Aminas, each led by different socially tough situations.