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 the second film from Raja Amari from Tunisia, an island off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. As is usually the case with foreign films that go through scrupulous hurdles before making it to the United States, it's pretty good. The appeal to American audiences will probably be limited to the art-film culture, which is unfortunate, since what the film has most to offer is the stuff that mainstream Americans should see: a look into every day life in a Middle Eastern country where Arab and Western cultures integrate well.

The plot of `Satin Rouge' is rather simple: Lilia is a widow who wants to live life again. Her teenage daughter is getting interested in boys and integrating more western ways into her lifestyle. One night, while trying to follow her daughter's activities into the night, Lilia inadvertently discovers a cabaret. She enters to find women belly dancing in skimpy outfits, reacting both horrified and intrigued at the same time. Her desire to find her own individuality and break the moralistic mold of her upbringing has her frequenting the cabaret nightly. The other dancers befriend her, and before she knows it, she's belly-button deep in the club scene herself. As the plot thickens and romances develop, Lilia and her daughter both find themselves learning more about life than either of them bargained for.

There's no question this is a cute movie. The characters are amiable, although none of them are particularly deep, nor do they find themselves confronting and resolving difficult issues beyond the plot points. It's a simple little story, and Amari certainly has developed a great talent for writing and producing. However, `Satin Rouge' still looks and smells like a low-budget indi-film, which, despite it's clear entertainment value and obvious potential for future films, the movie is rough around the edges. The range of character profiles is limited, characters don't exhibit any dramatic `risk', and the plot line is moderately predictable, except for the very innovative and apt ending. Yet, the lead up to it was fully predictable, and the time spent getting there was longer than it needed to be. This is called, "bridging", and the idea is to avoid taking the viewer over an obvious path that will lead an inevidible other side. If we all know it's coming, either get there, or explore developments that contribute to the plot or character profiles. In this case, the delivery is "adequate," but not exemplary, a common mistake made by newer filmmakers.

The best part of the film is the intimate lens peering into a world and culture that is totally unfamiliar Americans. The depiction of old-world Arab and Western cultures was done so matter-of-factly and unintentional – something that only we Westerners would notice – that I felt a great sense of authenticity that what we were seeing was truly real. This aspect of `Satin Rouge' is not necessarily unique. Most films that come from Iran also illustrate these same features of their society, which would surprise and encourage most Americans as well. To this end, I think it's extremely important for the film industry to encourage and assist in more films from the Middle East region get into our country. We need it.

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

All I heard about this film was that it was from Tunisia. Nothing prepared me for a delightful trip into the cabarets and clubs where this ancient art is practiced.

Director Raja Amari has created the right atmosphere for this little film that is far better than some multi-million dollar duds. Probably the whole budget of this film would have only bought a couple of props in a Hollywood blockbuster.

The story is very sweet. Lilia, played with great charm by Hiyam Abbas, strikes the right note and makes the film work. The relationship between Lilia and Salma, the daughter, is strained. Lilia is not only beautiful, but she's full of life. She discovers the world of dancing with the help of a charming array of down to earth dancers who take her into their realm. They show her how to open up and regain a life that has been cut short by the death of her husband.

Lilia transforms herself into our eyes and all we can think is to shout at her to do her thing, enjoy life to the fullest.

A very satisfying time at the movies.

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.