fdeconde Reviews

Farha (2021)

Detailed sensitive view of traditional Palestinian village life before the Nakba

[10/10 · 3 December 2022]

The tale of Farha is not only a tale of the destruction of Palestinian life caused by the Nakba. It is a sensitive and beautiful portrait of traditional village life and the dreams of a young girl who desires an education beyond that provided to girls by the village Sheikh as well as a destiny beyond marriage. No one should miss this portrait of Palestine in 1948.

Although the film begins at a time of turmoil, the traditional harvest by the women of the village is shown while Farha reads a book. Her father, as mayor, is asked to join the fighters but hesitates. A traditional betrothal is shown, and the viewer becomes aware of Farha's indifference to a marriage arrangement and her own ambition to study at a school in the city. It is against this backdrop that the violence and destruction of the Nakba begins to unfold.

The inclusion of traditional harvest and betrothal songs are beautiful details and offer a counterpoint to the horror of the events of 1948.

Huda's Salon (2021)

A failed criticism of the patriarchy and a society at war with itself

[1/10 · 16 March 2022]

This film could have provided a powerful view into the relationships within a society that has been damaged internally by almost a century of Occupation as well as the plight of women in what sometimes remains a very patriarchal culture, and yet it was nothing more than a sensationalist thriller with no characters that were truly sympathetic, and a plot that lacked realism.

Reem was portrayed as a victim, and yet she was a very articulate woman who emasculated her husband verbally in every dialogue with him. The marriage was toxic but no other marriages were depicted. There are plenty of good marriages in Palestinian society, and there are excellent films like 'Pomegranates and Myrrh' that show a more balanced view of the problems faced by couples who live under Occupation, and how there can be mutual support and strength in adversity.

One cannot believe that a Palestinian woman would give Rohypnol to another Palestinian woman in order to force her to become a collaborator, Further, one cannot believe that the victim would not simply go to the Resistance for help rather than feeling she had no options, and walk the streets with her baby aimlessly.

What this film depicted was a society of cowards and Palestinians are anything but cowards, having remaned on the ground despite every kind of military threat including massacres over the decades. Of course the Occupation has created a society at war with itself in many ways, but a good film would have been more balanced, and given us at least one sympathetic character. It failed to do so.

Reem does not even allow her husband to show any fatherly interest in his daughter, yet she is willing to consider total abandonment of her baby in the form of suicide. When he leaves with the baby and locks the front door, she is rendered powerless,but surely she could have smashed a window.

The only moment when any character shows any dignity or courage is when the collaborator Houda goes to her execution. The fact that the male model she hired simply is set on fire but her interrogator allows her a generous amount of time to try to explain her indefensible actions somehow made me feel she was treated more gently because she was a woman!

The Resistance leader confesses he was responsible as a child for the death of his friend because he was too cowardly to own up to his actions. Is this supposed to represent the real character of the shebab? Day after day, young Palestinian boys and girls show incredible courage, honour and detemination in confronting tanks and machine guns with nothing but stones in their hands.

There is much to criticise In traditional patriarchal societies but Palestinian mothers, wives and daughters are known for their courage and loyalty in the face of unbearable horrors.

This film has garnered more attention than it deserves because of the shocking scene where Reem is shown completely nude, kmocked out by the drugs given to her by her hairdresser. Were it not for this, it would not merit even a review.

Watch '3000 Nights' or 'Eyes of a Thief' or 'Pomegranates and Myrrh' instead. There is a wealth of excellent cinema from Palestine that is both based on true facts and shows the beauty of the land and its culture as well as the problems faced by its people.