Satin rouge (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Raja Amari

Writer:

Raja Amari (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2002 (France)

Genre:

Musical | Drama

Plot:

After the death of her husband, Lilia's life revolves solely around her teenage daughter, Salma. Whilst looking for Salma late one night...

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Hiam Abbass	...	Lilia
Hend El Fahem	...	Salma
Maher Kamoun	...	Chokri (as Maher Kammoun)
Monia Hichri	...	Folla
Faouzia Badr	...	Lilia's Neighbor
Nadra Lamloum	...	Hela
Abou Moez El Fazaa	...	Cabaret Owner
Salah Miled	...	Uncle Béchir
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Selma Kouchy

Also Known As:

Red Satin (International: English title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

France | Tunisia

Language:

Arabic | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Tunis, Tunisia

Company:

A.N.P.A. (Agence Nationale de Promotion de l'Audiovisuel)

Woman on the verge of a nervous belly dance

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.