Dégradé

Over an hour long we see a portrait of about 10 women going about their daily business, being constrained in a women's hairdresser shop in Gaza. They are all trying to exclude the war that is ocassionally raging outside.

Sudden lack of power stops the hair dryer from working though . The make up starts running too, because the airco doesnt work anymore. The entrance door cant be opened for some fresh air, because of the presence of men with weapons out on the street in front of the hairdresser's shop. But a bride to be is still in need of a hair cut, she has to be helped before she will attend the wedding in a few hours. Will she be able to travel outside though, when there is a sudden spike in violence outside the hairdresser's shop? Another woman is pregnant and in sudden need of medical attention, but she doesnt dare travel outside either, when violence on the streets suddenly errupts.

Lack in supplies of fuel, medicine and transportation and all kinds of other pragmatical worries of these female customers at the hairdresser in Gaza are being portrayed with great eye for detail. Slowburning and increasingly claustrophobic portrait of 1 day in life in Gaza at the hairdresser, where everybody tries to exclude the terror of war outside, in order to be able to lead a reasonably normal life. But the war outside unvoluntarily locks them inside the hairdresser anyway, however hard they try to forget about it for a few hours.

How these women deal with the terror of war in Gaza, while being constrained in a hairdresser shop is humbling to see, because of their perserverence in wanting to lead a normal and peaceful life under such devastating conditions in Gaza.

In Gaza, ten female costumers are in the beauty shop owned by Christine (Victoria Balitska), who studied in Russia. Her spoiled daughter is waiting for her father to go home. Her assistant is having a troubled relationship with her violent mate Ahmed (Tarzan Nasser) that has stolen a lion. She spends time in her cellphone calling Ahmed. The clients include the stressed and bitter divorcée Eftikhar (Hiam Abbass), who is preparing for a date with her lawyer; a bride-to-be that is preparing for her wedding; a pregnant woman; a pious woman; a drugged lunatic and gossiper; a divorced woman. Along the day, there is power outage, disturbing the work of the hairdressers and the ventilation in the shop. Later, there is a shootout with the Hamas on the street, and the women are stranded in the beauty shop in an environment of tension.

"Dégradé" (2015) is a movie that discloses a day of civilian women in Gaza (before the present Israeli bombing). This low-budget film is show in one location only but with good performances of the amateurish cast. This movie is recommended for viewers that appreciate to see different cultures. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Degrade"