Szczesliwy Czlowiek
Poland,
2000, 84 min
Shown in 2001
CREDITS
- dir
-
Malgorzata Szumowska
- prod
-
Wojciech J. Has
- scr
-
Malgorzata Szumowska
- cam
-
Marek Gajczak, Michal Englert
- editor
-
Jacek Drosio
- mus
-
Zygmunt Konieczny
- cast
-
Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak, Malgorzata Chajewska-Krzysztofik, Piotr Jankowski
- source
-
TVP S.A., 17, J.P. Woronicza Str., 00-999 Warsaw, Poland. FAX: 48-22-547-8070
- premiere
-
North American Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Malgorzata Szumowska in person.
OTHER
Taking a roundabout approach to the ills of modern Algeria, this offbeat comedy revolves around an apartment building run by a former freedom fighter who vents her frustrations by manipulating other women. The story is set in 1993 Algiers, when the first signs of civil war were appearing on streets patrolled by armed soldiers. In her corner house enclosed by high walls, Madame Osmane (Carmen Maura) is a comic tyrant, intent on controlling the lives of daughter Sakina, half-mad maid Meriem, French-born young wife Yasmine and a host of tenants. The women drive to a wedding party along the coast, where the chicly dressed Osmane manages to ruin Sakina’s engagement to her biology teacher by insulting his mother, a tattooed peasant woman. In the general uproar, Osmane ferociously imposes her will, bringing on an unexpectedly tragic but appropriate finale. Held together by Maura’s strong central performance, which finds focus and intensity as the film proceeds, Harem reveals many surprising sides to female life in Algeria, from the women’s sexiness and freedom when they’re alone to the traditional values they force on themselves. Lensed in Morocco due to the dangerous political situation in Algeria, this first feature by Nadir Moknèche stands out for its originality
—Alissa Simon
FACTOID #65
The combined running time for all the films in the Festival is approximately 310,000 minutes. Or to put it another way, 5,167 hours. That’s about 215 days of viewing, 24 hours a day, with no breaks.
