A few nights ago, I attended a film festival and watched a Jordanian film called “Habibi.” It was in
Arabic with English subtitles. The story takes place in Gaza and
revolves around two people who met at college before they had to
leave and go to Gaza because of the Israeli occupation. In the
movie, a friend is killed by the Israeli soldiers. Because of that
the main character's (Layla's) brother joins the Hamas. Layla loves
a man named Qays but he is a poet who didn't finish his degree and is
now working in construction. Consequently her family thinks that he
is not good enough for her. Through his sorrows, he paints poetry of
his love for Layla on the walls around Gaza. The words in the poems
are enough to start people to talking about Layla. So her family
decides that in order to save her honor, she must be married right
away to a man that she doesn't love. Qays and Layla try to run away,
but he is caught with a fake visa and the plan simply falls apart.
After both returning to their homes, they commit suicide. He goes
too close to the border where he is sure to be shot and she goes to
the sea and drowns herself.
That is how the movie ends. The storyline reminds me a bit of Romeo and Juliet, but I never really cared for that story either. I'm definitely an American when it comes to movie preferences. I like happy endings. I have also heard the flip side that many people dislike American films because they all have happy endings and that isn't real life. Maybe it isn't completely true to real life, but when you see that someone got their own happily ever after, it gives you a bit of hope that you can also find a happily ever after. In my mind it's much nicer to go through life hoping for something better than to go through life thinking that there is no way that anything good can come of life, that life is just too hard to be enjoyed.
Another interesting thing about this film is that the director also played the main character of Layla. I don't know how common this is, but she did do a great job with both roles. After showing the film, they had a brief question and answer session with the director. One of the more interesting questions was about the hijab. The character of Layla seemed to be the type of person who wouldn't wear a hijab. However, as the director pointed out, in Gaza, women wear the hijab even if they aren't religious. So to portray someone not wearing the hijab would be unrealistic. Also if I understood what she said correctly, she also mentioned that she wanted to show that there is more to every person under the hijab. Another funny question was how the main character smoking was important to the story. Were they partly funded by a cigarette company? The director hadn't even thought of that. They weren't funded by a cigarette company, but for Layla, it was a way to destress. They were probably a destresser for the director as well. Directing a film is no easy task especially when you are also playing the role of the main character as well. I'm sure she needed some way to destress. However, it just makes you wonder why she didn't choose to bake a chocolate cake or brownies instead. I find that to be a marvelous destresser.
=)
That is how the movie ends. The storyline reminds me a bit of Romeo and Juliet, but I never really cared for that story either. I'm definitely an American when it comes to movie preferences. I like happy endings. I have also heard the flip side that many people dislike American films because they all have happy endings and that isn't real life. Maybe it isn't completely true to real life, but when you see that someone got their own happily ever after, it gives you a bit of hope that you can also find a happily ever after. In my mind it's much nicer to go through life hoping for something better than to go through life thinking that there is no way that anything good can come of life, that life is just too hard to be enjoyed.
Another interesting thing about this film is that the director also played the main character of Layla. I don't know how common this is, but she did do a great job with both roles. After showing the film, they had a brief question and answer session with the director. One of the more interesting questions was about the hijab. The character of Layla seemed to be the type of person who wouldn't wear a hijab. However, as the director pointed out, in Gaza, women wear the hijab even if they aren't religious. So to portray someone not wearing the hijab would be unrealistic. Also if I understood what she said correctly, she also mentioned that she wanted to show that there is more to every person under the hijab. Another funny question was how the main character smoking was important to the story. Were they partly funded by a cigarette company? The director hadn't even thought of that. They weren't funded by a cigarette company, but for Layla, it was a way to destress. They were probably a destresser for the director as well. Directing a film is no easy task especially when you are also playing the role of the main character as well. I'm sure she needed some way to destress. However, it just makes you wonder why she didn't choose to bake a chocolate cake or brownies instead. I find that to be a marvelous destresser.
=)
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