Harem

I believe there are many fans of the famous Turkish series, Magnificent Century, among us. The series is based on the life of one of the greatest sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent, and his beloved Hurrem Sultan. The events take place in the early-to-mid 16th century, and all these love, hatred, jealousy, intrigues and betrayal against the backdrop of a medieval harem seem incredibly romantic.

However, very few people actually realize that this medieval tradition of harems continued to exist in Turkey until the end of World War I when the Entente countries literally broke the once great Ottoman Empire into pieces, and Turkey said good-bye to its last sultan who had to flee to Europe. And with him, famous harems also sank into oblivion.

And yet, revolutionary moods had begun to spread in Turkey a few decades earlier. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by Abdul-Hamid II whose reign became famous thanks to 2 things: the first Turkish constitution which he adopted under great pressure, and terrible persecutions of Christians (mainly Armenian ones). This historical period became the backdrop to the story shown in the 1986 TV movie, Harem.

A young and free-spirited Lady Jessica (Nancy Travis) is soon to marry a worthy young man (Julian Sands). But he works in diplomacy, and in order not to part with her fiancé for a long time, Jessica travels with him to Damascus. There, revolutionary-minded rebels successfully kidnap her and sell her to the harem of the Sultan (Omar Sharif) in exchange for some prisoners. Jessica was brought up in a progressive but also somewhat puritanical way, so the sensual mores of harem women, who are ready to sell their souls for getting into the Sultan's bed, seem centuries-old antiquity to her. Her beauty, purity and intelligence, however, attract the Sultan's attention, and Jessica becomes his favorite, pushing his first wife (Ava Gardner) into the background. But for how long will Jessica be able to keep this title?

Surely, all the historical events are shown in a rather loose manner, including the Sultan himself. Abdul Hamid was far from being as handsome as Omar Sharif. However, the movie touches on a subject that was completely missed out in Magnificent Century. Sultans, their wives and mothers were traditionally served by black and white eunuchs. Black eunuchs were dark-skinned men brought from Africa, and they had great power, often dealing with diplomatic issues for Valide sultan (mother of the Sultan), who would rarely leave the harem and was not allowed to talk to men directly due to religious and cultural aspects.

Harem is a beautiful romantic story with elements of adventure. And if you are fond of Magnificent Century and have always wondered what harem life was like a few centuries after Hurrem, then you will have 3 enjoyable hours while watching this movie.

The romantasicing of a violation of human rights, sexism, human trafficing. Disgusting.

romanticism, clichés, a dramatic-pink story about a fictional Ottoman Empire. and decent performances. it is enough for the success of a film who preserves more the air of "80țs cinema than the traces of the stories about harem created by foreign visitors. sure, it is a nice film. sure, it is part of a long series of films recreating the past in nice frames. and, more important, it is a good occasion for admire the right actors, in the right roles, doing the expected performances. so, Harem.

a chain of nice clichés. but interesting for cast, clash between civilizations, romanticism ,atmosphere and the remember of a lot of sweet legends about Middle East. the performance of Art Malik is really interesting. the presence of Ava Gardner in a cold role - almost seductive. Omar Shariff, as fictive sultan , does his ordinary role in exotic B film. but the great virtue of film is to present the spirit of "80's. the glamor, the ambiguous lights, the soap opera potential, the life as dream, the love as large circle. the second virtue - the atmosphere from Arabian Nights with precise number of drops from freedom, condition of woman in Orient at the beginning of century and flavor or rare images. a film who could be more than easy delight. but a letter from far land of memory.

When I heard that Nancy Travis, who played across Mike Myers in "So I Married an Axe Murderer," and Art Malik, who played the heavy in "True Lies," were the romantic leads in this 1980s TV drama, I knew it was something I had to see. In its ludicrous, Reagan-era soap operatic way, it's an entertaining little gem, filled with delightfully cringe-inducing lines like, "Because you don't have a woman's heart!"

It's also a compendium of just about every cliché known to man, from the freedom-loving American ingénue who shoots like Annie Oakley, to the stuffy Victorian aunt, to the student revolutionary who jumps on soapboxes at every opportunity, to the uber-Orientalist portrayal of the harem with all its poisonous plots and sexy belly dancers. It's set back around 1907 in the Ottoman Empire, and the story, such as it is, involves the adventures of a blond, dewy-eyed American girl named Jessica (Travis) who goes to Turkey with her proper and equally blond English fiancée (Julian Sands), and gets kidnapped. Inevitably, she ends up in a harem, fending off the advances of a besotted sultan (Omar Sharif), and the wicked intrigues of his chief wife (Ava Gardner, channeling the stepmother from "Snow White"). Although the sultan is awfully keen on her, Jessica falls in love with the leader of the revolutionary movement, Tarik Pasha- who is played with a completely straight face by Art Malik.

The whole story unfolds like a dime store novel, which I suppose is appropriate given the setting, and even though it's as preposterous as the average episode of the old Zorro TV show, it's still a lot of fun. The whole premise of the show, with its emphasis on the tyrannized and barbarous East, would probably give old Edward Said fits, but it's notable for the fact that it has good Turks alongside its bad, and that it has a genuine Muslim actor as the hero. There's quite a few hot Middle Eastern and South Asian guys running around in this, and Art Malik is surprisingly appealing (and gorgeous) as the idealistic young Turkish hothead. There are also plenty of beautiful location shots in the old Moorish mosques and palaces in Granada and Cordoba, and in Morocco as well, although the director seemed to forget that the Sahara desert is nowhere near Turkey.

It's actually comparable to "The Lady and the Highwayman," another kitschy, lavishly produced '80s period soap, although unlike "Lady," "Harem" does not have Hugh Grant and was never released to DVD. However, it's definitely worth a watch if you don't mind your entertainment on the corny side. Even though I was groaning at many of the plot twists and dialogue, I would happily watch it again.