Inch'Allah dimanche

Not only was this the best movie i've ever seen it was also the worst. THis movie made me question life itself but the biggest question i found myself asking was, who won the garden contest? ANother central theme of this movie is the beloved grandmother who nurtured her son and grandchildren, why there wasn't a statue erected in her honor is a mystery to me. Long live grandma T. #thunstofam #re2pectopatronum. Zouina was an okay person but the star of the film was definitely the bus driver who rescued the children from a burning building, he truly is a saint. I hope everyone watches this movie because it wastes at least 3 days of class, maybe 3 and a half if andre does a music mercredi. Goober gang over everything shout out to ms neville for teaching lit.

I should say right off I have seen other film about Algerians, both there and in Paris. So I'm not unfamiliar with the themes and issues.

I found this often confusing - the protagonist's behavior borders on irrational more than once - and not really evidence of oppression or even racism. Her husband is certainly more violent than we would think acceptable, but not terribly so I would think for the culture at the time and not entirely without provocation. While her errors in dealing with the larger culture are somewhat touching, they're almost like comic relief at times. (In that regard, it occurs to me that this film is also reminiscent of one about a Palestinian immigrant in America.) The mother in law is a bit of a caricature (though very well-played). The exact motivation of the various helpers is uncertain; you would think too that one would know better than to give a certain sort of gift. There's a running theme of a garden contest which never quite comes to the forefront nor gets resolved. The "happy ending" some have mentioned comes largely out of nowhere.

Her over the top joy at learning another Algerian woman lives nearby is almost disturbing in its intensity and the risks she takes given her otherwise hyper-traditional upbringing seem downright eccentric.

Basically, the film mishandles too many disjointed elements and never really lays its central issues out clearly - unlike other work I've seen around this community.

This one should be a real crowd pleaser. It's a women's film that evokes both laughter and tears. It's got a sympathetic Muslim protagonist, Zoina, who evolves into a feminist icon. The musical sound track is emotional dynamite, even though the lyrics are largely untranslated and may, one suspects, contain information that would illuminate the narrative. There are lots of fascinating cross-cultural devices. All this and a happy ending too. The only problem with Inch Allah Dimanche is that it's artistically spurious. The most glaring deficiency is character development. There is no explanation, for example, as to how this Algerian woman came to be such a cultural anomaly. We can see her growing anger and rebellion under the rain of abuse from her mother-in-law and husband, but where is the wellspring of prior experience? And, even more troublesome, how do we explain the sudden transformation of her heretofore stereotypical Arab husband in the final scene? Audiences, however, are likely love this film in spite of its obvious flaws.

I missed this film when it was in the theaters and saw it on DVD recently. I was impressed with the raw and brutal portrayal of the oppression of a woman in a peasant religious culture. I am the product of a similar home from a geographically different culture. The dynamics were the same. I had a grandmother strikingly similar to the violent and domineering matriarch in the film. My mother struggled through domination and surfaced to be a scarred but liberated woman in her time.

I feel the film did a great service to educate the uninitiated, those liberal or naive people in civilized societies, who think that these cultures are quaint and should be left to spin on their own web of unenlightened misery. I think the film portrays a small variety of reactions and variables which effect these violent and repressive cultures when their members immigrate into industrialized and socialized societies with aspirations to human rights for all.

Given the massive inertia that must be overcome to get people, both immigrants and native residents, to be open, flexible, peaceful, generous and kind to each other, this film, beautifully produced, is a good primer. I recommend it.

The best movie I have ever seen in my ENTIRE life - and I watch A LOT of movies. The finesse with which the main character is built is just beautiful - she just shines. The movie is not stereotypical at all. The film also doesn't fall into the trap of making the ending happy and conclusive - at the end you're just left with a smile on your face and feeling like Zouina (the main character) is actually somewhere out there living her life. The supporting actors are perfect, from the bus driver to the neighbors to the grocery store clerk. The pace of the movie is that of a lullaby - a still, sad, lullaby. This movie deserves all the praise in the world - I don't think there is any movie out there, even the big Hollywood productions, that could top this film.