Satin Rouge

As a 29 year old woman from Tunisia, I am satisfied and even proud of this movie. Here is another Tunisian movie that portrays Tunisian woman as liberated from the traditions, the religion, the social conformism, as opposed to women in some other Arabic/Muslim countries. I am excited to know that this movie has an international success. Hopefully, this will change people's prejudice about the society and the the situation of women in North Africa and the middle East. (by the way, Tunisia is in North Africa, not the middle East).

So few films from the Maghreb make it to USA screens, so see "Satin Rouge" for that alone: it's a rare chance to witness life in North Africa (in this case, Tunisia). There's an early morning cab ride through a charming, graceful Mediterranean cityscape and beach scenes that made me want to jump onto the Internet to research my next vacation - on the coast near Tunis. It was all far lovelier than I'd ever imagined.

Then there's the film itself. It offers a nicely-crafted, beautifully understated exposition of a shy widow's breaking out of her shell through the medium of traditional belly-dance, although the plot frog-leaps at times and the more literal-minded may be left wondering how certain developments came about. But the sensitive face of the actress who plays the lead role carries you over the spaces in the story.

The music is terrific - definitely an element in the film. Supporting cast (particularly the professional belly dancer) felt thoroughly authentic.

I found the mother-daughter relationship quite convincing, although if I were the daughter, I might have wondered where my mother was all those evenings! Worth seeing, particularly if you enjoy opening windows onto different cultures.

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.

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