Satin Rouge

As a gay man, I feel that "Satin Rouge" has a very gay sensibility. Anyone who has ever braved society's strictures to come out of the closet will have a visceral understanding of what Lilia goes through as she voyages from the purdah of widowhood to the freedom of belly dancing in a cabaret.

I kept wondering how "Satin Rouge" would look and feel if the film had been made by another director in another country. Specifically, I found "Satin Rouge" and its characters very reminiscent of Pedro Almodovar (whose work also has a gay sensibility). If the film had been made in the United States, it would probably have to have a gay male lead character coming out into drag. I really can't compare the belly dancers of Tunisia -- at least as they are presented in "Satin Rouge" to anything other than American drag queens. To have the main character take up stripping in a nightclub, or hooking on the streets, would not be at all the same.

In any case, "Satin Rouge" kept my interest up right to the very end. It was the kind of movie that could have gone either of two ways. It could have ended both comically and tragically. There are certainly laughs along the way, but some of them were nervous laughs. I won't spoil your viewing pleasure by telling you how the movie finally turns out.

"Satin Rouge" is an obscure movie from Tunisia, but well worth a look. The story has Hiyam Abbas as Lilia, a widowed seamstress who breaks out of her shell and joins the glittery world of belly dancing. This movie seems to catch the essence of the dancer, how Middle Eastern society views her, and how she feels about the dance. "Satin Rouge" may not present a complete catalogue of belly dance moves, but what there is one might find very entertaining. On the whole, "Satin Rouge" offers a colorful look into another culture, making for a pleasurable dance.

the plot of this movie is a bit contrived in certain places: i find it hard to believe that a widow can morph herself into a belly dancer/mrs. robinson type in such a short timespan, especially in conservative tunisia.

despite that, i'd have to say this is quite an "aphrodisiac" movie: for you guys out there who are dating "shy" women, or for you guys out there who want to rekindle some passion in your love life, have a go at watching this movie together, and then enjoy each other as the "tiger" within your woman comes out!

my thanks to raja amari (a new & promising talent) for a wonderful aphrodisiac.

Another female-centric movie which is somewhat Karmen Gaei meets Sirens. Karmen Gaei being a similarly African film with long sequences of song-and-dance, and Sirens being a middle-aged woman who discovers new found sexuality within her.

This movie starts off somewhat languidly, and lulls you into a sleepy mood. The main protaganist, Lilia, a beautiful widow, goes about her sheltered life comfortably. Everyday she goes to the market, chats on the phone and fusses over her daughter, much to the latter's chargrin. She entombs herself with memories of her late husband together in the apartment. In one of her many quests to control her daughter, she accidentally stumbles onto a cabarat a few streets from her house. Ever so slowly, the movie merges her mundane world with the frenzy of the cabarat world. The cabarat has an irresistable charm, with its incessant drumbeats, and riots of colours that draw people like flies to the light. And that is what happens to Lilia. To the rest of us, it is a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, just like Karmen Gaei, the song-and-dance sequence goes on for far too long for non-africans. The terrible pacing, which is a blasphemy in the western world of CGI and action, snuffs out whatever interest is left of the viewer.

The one good saving point of this movie is the portrayal of Tunisian society. The titanic struggle between secularism and Islam, the east and west, the young and old, conservatism and liberation, threatens to boil over at some point, but they never do. Somehow the Tunisian society resolve these issues much more elegantly than say, more fundamentalist Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia or Egypt.

Watching this movie makes me feel I've just been to the modern city of Tunis to pay a visit to a boring aunt for the weekend.

Rating : 5.0

If you have a fondness of belly dancers like I do me, than this is an excellent movie. This movie has a perfect presentation of belly dancing in the Middle Eastern world. To me belly dancing is more than just a dance. It is a beautiful culture. Belly dancing is glamorous, sensual and mysterious. Belly dancers where such beautiful costumes and have such beautiful and sensual movements movements. That is why belly dancers are sometimes called "The flowers of the desert".

This movie is about Lilia a depressed single mother and widow with a teenage daughter. One night Lilia who one night walks into a cabaret where belly dancers perform. Lilia befriends one of the dancers. Lilia tries one a belly dance costume and the belly dancer that Lilia has befriended talks her into performing at the cabaret and Lilia becomes one of the regular belly dance performers. Lilia is also able to relieve herself of her melancholy by letting herself go.

So this film shows that belly dancing can have great mental benefits as well as great physical benefits. So if you like belly dancers than I certainly recommend this movie.