Leila Marrakchi's 'Marock', a debut film from new Arab women director, deviate from traditional themes:
"It's not your typical Arab film. I wanted to get away from all that," says Marrakchi. "At the same time what is seen in the film is a part of what actually does exist. I wanted to leave those subjects that we've already seen before - poverty, the state of women in the Arab world. The whole purpose was to tell a story and show a different image of Morocco."
That different image sees the kids drinking, dancing and smoking hash with the same casual abandon as any other teenager around the world. The film deliberately avoids the traditional Maghrebi cinematic stereotypes, there are no souks, hammams or bazaars in Rita's world - only big houses, fast cars and girls drunkenly throwing up in club toilets. Where "Marock" is most effective is when there is a collision between Rita's bubblegum fantasy and the reality of the patriarchal order around her. The opening scene, set to Snap's early 1990's dance hit "I've Got The Power," sees Marrakchi pan across a club car park filled with sports cars. The camera closes up on Rita and her boyfriend steaming up the windows before they're interrupted by a police officer, who threatens them with jail unless he receives some money.
Similarly, the role of religion is deftly handled. Aside from the Muslim-Jewish conflict of the central love story, Marrakchi sets the majority of her film during Ramadan, with calls to prayer co-existing alongside kids playing poker and partying.
"Jews and Muslims have always co-existed here. Religion in a country like Morocco is always going to be present even without us realizing it," Marrakchi observes. "There are people that are believers but they don't necessarily have to be fundamentalists. In Morocco there are a lot of believers who are tolerant. I wanted to use religion in the film the way it actually is in the country. It's in the background but present."
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That might be true in Morocco, but not yet to that extant in the other conservative Arab countries, or I wish it is!
{ 1 comment }
Hi everybody,
Well, I think this kind of debates is worthy especially at this time where the actualities speake about freedom of expression, but I think freeddom has some limits as well.
I’d go along with the fact that Marock reflects some realities of our morocco, but still not all reality, and people who are leading that kind of life are a real minority, I’ll be generous and say some 5 percent…Just to have an idea, about 10 millions live in Casablanca, 30 million in morocco.
One other issue that chocked me is the scene showing a guy prying and the girl, with only some under wear, is trying to disturb him by asking him about his pair of jeans and saying to her parents that he’s become mad… have moroccan people also forgotten that prying is not an act of madness but it’s duty as well as many others duties in all religions? Is that kind of tolerance messages, Leila is trying to pass? I think one is free also to pry without being anoyed or accuesed of Madness