This movie shows touching reality of how some muslim families stuck between west and east, tradition and modernity, your own happiness or society's approval. As a muslim girl who lived similar things like Selma in a similar, "modern" muslim family like hers, this movie showed my life to me like a mirror, maybe not a perfect piece but definitely worth to watch.
5 Reviews
Culturally Complex
derek-duerden27 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not really qualified to assert that I really understood what was going on here from a cultural perspective, but it raised some very complex issues which I assume are very real for many people.
At one level, it could be seen as a standard coming-of-age tale for a second-generation immigrant girl of high intelligence who'd like to break free of her parents stifling influence, whilst still loving them and with some fond memories of Algeria and the family there.
Although there is no nudity, there is however some very frank language and handling of sexual matters among the young schoolfriends, which was something of a surprise. Perhaps though this helped illustrate the gulf between her lived experience and the "arranged marriage" expectations of her parents' generation.
As others have noted, the seemingly-sudden change in her father's attitude and the mother's move towards the end of the film didn't seem to gel that well with the earlier parts, but as a resolution it wasn't too bad.
Worth a look.
At one level, it could be seen as a standard coming-of-age tale for a second-generation immigrant girl of high intelligence who'd like to break free of her parents stifling influence, whilst still loving them and with some fond memories of Algeria and the family there.
Although there is no nudity, there is however some very frank language and handling of sexual matters among the young schoolfriends, which was something of a surprise. Perhaps though this helped illustrate the gulf between her lived experience and the "arranged marriage" expectations of her parents' generation.
As others have noted, the seemingly-sudden change in her father's attitude and the mother's move towards the end of the film didn't seem to gel that well with the earlier parts, but as a resolution it wasn't too bad.
Worth a look.
A very strong and stylish statement for emancipation
anxiousgayhorseonketamine17 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Director here wants to describe the plight of women from Islamic cultural background growing up in a Western setting and the frictions resulting from the clash and irreducibility of the two
Selma here has a Berber dad played by a French Berber actor; the mum is played by Amira Casar a Russian-Kurdish British/French actress who is meant to look Berber or Arab enough to pass muster .... she is an amazing actress and does it fine ...
Selma goes to Business school and takes a fancy to a "de souche" (native) French boy. Of course she hides that fact to her parents; a hugely middle-class couple pretending to be Westernized but also struggling with their cultural "between 2 stools" predicament
For quite a while in the film it feels as if tradition will win the day; but nope in the end Selma AND her mum break free (she first) of the patriarchy. Where that will leave them is anybody's guess ... but it is a wondrous thing to watch .... the father seems to have a 180° sea change in attitude something we really cannot quite understand and is not explained ... the mum decides to go "back" to Algiers and set up her gynaecology practice she had surrendered to become a mum .... seems a little far-fetched if you add to that the fact that this is set in 1993 at the height of the Islamic Brotherhood terror period in Algeria. The FLN government in place since 1962 had rescinded/repealed/canceled the results of the election which had given the FIS (The Brothers/Ikhwan) a clear victory . It was a case of democracy only works when you give it the result it wants otherwise ... so that too is a fiction
The last quarter of the film takes us to Kabylia and the gorgeous mountains and landscapes there; it is hilarious to see these cosmopolitan Parisians knocking around the village; talk about fish out of water; obviously neither actress speak a word of Berber so you have these ubuesque conversations in which the Grandma speaks Berber and both women speak Paris French; but it still works and kudos to have managed to film that there also the road block scene was excellent and the actor dad there could show that he at least really is a Berber...
I came away from this film feeling that the director had truly meant to show that for him the position of women in those situations is not something he feels is right at this point ; he dedicates the film to his mother and this clearly says that to me
If a young Ethnic Asian British girl embarking on a University course or German Turkish or French Moghrebi sees this film it will resonate; as the situation will be very similar in all those cases; it is the plight of the one who sits between 2 cultural stools and finds it difficult to be comfortable in either; 2 cultures which are like oil and water and really cannot mix. In the end here both the mother and the daughter decide to go fully independent/Western; the mother says to her daughter: "never depend on anyone" anyone meaning husband here obviously.
Right at the denouement her French boyfriend suggests to Selma she joins him in Singapore where he is being posted. She tells him she will not ... QED
A truly enjoyable film original and yes a bit sad overall due to the subject matter but totally worth seeing. I personally give it a 9 and not a 10 due to "suspension of disbelief" storyline towards the end but others will see this differently no doubt.
Selma here has a Berber dad played by a French Berber actor; the mum is played by Amira Casar a Russian-Kurdish British/French actress who is meant to look Berber or Arab enough to pass muster .... she is an amazing actress and does it fine ...
Selma goes to Business school and takes a fancy to a "de souche" (native) French boy. Of course she hides that fact to her parents; a hugely middle-class couple pretending to be Westernized but also struggling with their cultural "between 2 stools" predicament
For quite a while in the film it feels as if tradition will win the day; but nope in the end Selma AND her mum break free (she first) of the patriarchy. Where that will leave them is anybody's guess ... but it is a wondrous thing to watch .... the father seems to have a 180° sea change in attitude something we really cannot quite understand and is not explained ... the mum decides to go "back" to Algiers and set up her gynaecology practice she had surrendered to become a mum .... seems a little far-fetched if you add to that the fact that this is set in 1993 at the height of the Islamic Brotherhood terror period in Algeria. The FLN government in place since 1962 had rescinded/repealed/canceled the results of the election which had given the FIS (The Brothers/Ikhwan) a clear victory . It was a case of democracy only works when you give it the result it wants otherwise ... so that too is a fiction
The last quarter of the film takes us to Kabylia and the gorgeous mountains and landscapes there; it is hilarious to see these cosmopolitan Parisians knocking around the village; talk about fish out of water; obviously neither actress speak a word of Berber so you have these ubuesque conversations in which the Grandma speaks Berber and both women speak Paris French; but it still works and kudos to have managed to film that there also the road block scene was excellent and the actor dad there could show that he at least really is a Berber...
I came away from this film feeling that the director had truly meant to show that for him the position of women in those situations is not something he feels is right at this point ; he dedicates the film to his mother and this clearly says that to me
If a young Ethnic Asian British girl embarking on a University course or German Turkish or French Moghrebi sees this film it will resonate; as the situation will be very similar in all those cases; it is the plight of the one who sits between 2 cultural stools and finds it difficult to be comfortable in either; 2 cultures which are like oil and water and really cannot mix. In the end here both the mother and the daughter decide to go fully independent/Western; the mother says to her daughter: "never depend on anyone" anyone meaning husband here obviously.
Right at the denouement her French boyfriend suggests to Selma she joins him in Singapore where he is being posted. She tells him she will not ... QED
A truly enjoyable film original and yes a bit sad overall due to the subject matter but totally worth seeing. I personally give it a 9 and not a 10 due to "suspension of disbelief" storyline towards the end but others will see this differently no doubt.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
morrison-dylan-fan24 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
With the organisers extending the event,I decided after seeing the terrific Skin (2020-also reviewed) I decided to look at what other titles were making their UK debut at the Leeds International Film Festival. Intrigued by the outline on the festival site,and finding it to have no reviews here,I decided to light a cigar.
View on the film:
Penetrating the opening credits with evocative Freudian images, co-writer/(with Marc Syrigas) director Kamir Ainouz makes a startling debut, rolled on a raw semi-autobiographical atmosphere. Closely working with 8 Women (2002-also reviewed) cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie, Ainouz fills the opening scene with Selma's face covering the screen like a rising sun,as waves wash over her whilst lying alone in the Algerian surf.
Casting a misty narration of Selma quoting Gilbert Sinoue's novel L'Egyptienne over the opening,Ainouz subtly trims away the chatter from Selma's parents about her finding a partner, and would-be boyfriends displaying their charms, leaving behind stark,bare close-ups of Selma's face.
Staying close to Selma in her coming of age and avoiding displays of skin that would trip into the exploited, Ainouz pulls the soundtrack away for a sultry atmosphere, held on Ainouz's growing self-confidence at opening up her own desires.
Looking into the abyss of a pitch-black bedroom, Ainouz holds the camera to tight close-ups as Selma gets assaulted by a partner she trusted, with the betrayal and trauma from the abuse being cast across the anguish face of Selma.
Separating the film and Salma between France and a Algeria in the 1990's where Islamist rebel groups were gaining a increased footing in the Civil War,Selma's mention of a passage in the opening Gilbert Sinoue quote about a woman's reaction, separated between revolt and submission, to the man who she is about to be intimate with, is brilliantly expanded into the divided reaction Selma and her mum have to men in their lives.
Made aware by her dad about how she should have a partner (but staying away from openly mentioning forced marriage) the screenplay by Ainouz and Syrigas brilliantly explores Selma's growth in self-confidence as she strikes out from the mix feelings of submission and revolution towards dominating would-be partners that surrounds her,which becomes reflected in Selma's mum brushing away at dismissive glances as she travels to her dream job.
View on the film:
Penetrating the opening credits with evocative Freudian images, co-writer/(with Marc Syrigas) director Kamir Ainouz makes a startling debut, rolled on a raw semi-autobiographical atmosphere. Closely working with 8 Women (2002-also reviewed) cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie, Ainouz fills the opening scene with Selma's face covering the screen like a rising sun,as waves wash over her whilst lying alone in the Algerian surf.
Casting a misty narration of Selma quoting Gilbert Sinoue's novel L'Egyptienne over the opening,Ainouz subtly trims away the chatter from Selma's parents about her finding a partner, and would-be boyfriends displaying their charms, leaving behind stark,bare close-ups of Selma's face.
Staying close to Selma in her coming of age and avoiding displays of skin that would trip into the exploited, Ainouz pulls the soundtrack away for a sultry atmosphere, held on Ainouz's growing self-confidence at opening up her own desires.
Looking into the abyss of a pitch-black bedroom, Ainouz holds the camera to tight close-ups as Selma gets assaulted by a partner she trusted, with the betrayal and trauma from the abuse being cast across the anguish face of Selma.
Separating the film and Salma between France and a Algeria in the 1990's where Islamist rebel groups were gaining a increased footing in the Civil War,Selma's mention of a passage in the opening Gilbert Sinoue quote about a woman's reaction, separated between revolt and submission, to the man who she is about to be intimate with, is brilliantly expanded into the divided reaction Selma and her mum have to men in their lives.
Made aware by her dad about how she should have a partner (but staying away from openly mentioning forced marriage) the screenplay by Ainouz and Syrigas brilliantly explores Selma's growth in self-confidence as she strikes out from the mix feelings of submission and revolution towards dominating would-be partners that surrounds her,which becomes reflected in Selma's mum brushing away at dismissive glances as she travels to her dream job.
Touching
nfourgous22 April 2022
A very delicate way of approching serious matters such a emancipation, rape, machismo.
More than a historical panorama, the movie reflects Kamir Aïnouz's feelings, with poetry and delicacy.
The actors are really great, particularly Zoé Adjani and her parents (Lyes Salem and Amira Casar).
I'm looking forward to the next director's movie to see if the alchemy is still there.
More than a historical panorama, the movie reflects Kamir Aïnouz's feelings, with poetry and delicacy.
The actors are really great, particularly Zoé Adjani and her parents (Lyes Salem and Amira Casar).
I'm looking forward to the next director's movie to see if the alchemy is still there.
See also
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