Arab cinema tells tales of sex and seduction

ZOFEEN MAQSOOD / Apr 23, 2008, 04:31 IST

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Arab cinema is opening its doors to new tales of human emotions.

Arab cinema tells tales of sex and seduction

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A still from Cairo StationThe closed cultural dominions of the Arab world are opening doors to a new wave of cinema.
Talk about the Arab world, and the mind immediately conjures up visions of golden sands, caravans and modestly veiled women. For the uninitiated the thought of a flourishing film industry in the region comes as a pleasant surprise.
The recently held Osian’s cinefest in Delhi acquainted many a cine lover to a new genre of cinema. The most surprising was Arab cinema. Arab films showcased during the festival busted stereotypical images and provided a refreshing insight into the Arab world. Renowned film maker Saeed Mirza, who was also a jury member at the festival, commented, “On watching Arab films I have explored a whole new world with newer revelations about the Arab culture. The films represent a different culture and polity and yet are engrossing.” He further added, “I am glad to see Arab cinema undergoing an image construction.”
Film critics world over agree that most Arabian films show elements of pain, anger and resentment. A far cry from the time when cinema in this part of the world spoke of flag waving, political issues; today the films depict intimate tales of human emotions. One such film that aroused enough interest during the festival was Cairo Station by the very famous filmmaker Yossef Chahine.

The film told the tragic story of Kenaowi (played by the filmmaker himself), a simple newspaper seller who is in love with Hanouma (Hind Rostom). His sexual frustration towards Hanouma is reflected in the pictures of women cut from magazines and pasted all over his hut. The story progresses as Hanouma, who is engaged to an influential porter, exacerbates Kenaowi’s frustrations by her harmless couquettery. The confusion eventually leads to the protagonists’ death.

The film received a lot of flak and wasn’t watched for two decades when it was released as the audience was not used to seeing such intense melodrama on screen. Actor Meeta Vashishta, who watched the movie at the festival said, “It was a touching human tale and the emotions held true for any man across countries and cultures.”
Often owing to their fearless portrayal of sensitive issues filmmakers like Chahine have been stripped off from national prizes. Filmmaker Nouri Bouzid, whose film Making of garnered great praise at the festival commented, “It is necessary to unveil the image that has been created by the western world.”
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Nouri BouzidWhile today American soaps are popularly seen on Arab television, the sensibilities intrinsic to the Arab audience need to be carefully dealt with. The filmmakers still try to follow socially conscious rules of filmmaking. Nayanika Singh, a young student of filmmaking says, “The women in Arab movies are essentially covered and I am yet to come across a kiss scene.”
But often it is this virtuosity of portrayal that attracts many. Manhar Udeshi, an audience member remarked, “I am impressed to see well made movies without a trace of sex or violence used to sell it.”
Explicit depiction of sexual acts remains a subject of strict censorship in Arab cinema. Most movies thrive with coded suggestions towards sexual issues though there has been a subtle change in this trend of late. Falafel, shown at Osian’s contains brief sexual scenes.
However in the recent past Lebanese director Danille Arbid invaded a new boundary with her film A Lost Man. The film abounds in steamy scenes and the female cast is seen in various states of undress. According to the filmmaker the selection of the film to Cannes film festival was a piece of cake as compared to getting it released in the Arab world.
Moral censorship in Arab movies has a distinct religious flavour even though the stories depict everything from seduction, adultery, murder, suicide to implied rape just like Hollywood movies. Chris Fujwara perhaps on seeing this commented, “Arab films are rich in diversity.” Shadows of Silence a Saudi Arabian film deals with the unique subject of occult power over society. The film has been showcased at film festivals in Rome, New York and Cannes.
Another aspect of Arab cinema that appealed to Osian’s audiences is the music and the cinematography. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a filmmaker from Thailand said, “The use of music in Arab cinema was remarkable and appealed to the senses.” A Bahraini Tale made on a small budget of one million dollar excelled in cinematography.
But despite an increased interest in films originating in the Arab world there is still a lack of widespread impact. Iranian filmmakers like Makhmalbaf are well known in Bollywood circuits but a co- production is rarely heard of. Apart from political and cultural reasons there are economic reasons restricting the growth of Arab cinema. Arab world is not unified and many projects have shut shop due to lack of investment. The domestic market also is not too strong with many Arab youth greatly interested in Bollywood.
But even though Arab films continue to deal with obstacles, film connoisseurs are hopeful that Arab films would one day be recognized far and wide as cinematic treats.

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