Sabah, a Syrian Muslim girl living with her family in Canada. Her father is dead, she is taking care of her mother, while her brother, a dominating Muslim male type, takes care of the whole family. She's about 40 years old, single. One day, she meets Stephen, a non-Muslim Canadian, and they start to like each other.
Sabah, wears a Hijab. She met Stephen at a swimming pool, the only way where she can escape from her brother and his restriction. As she struggles with her self to take off her hijab, and get into her swimming suite, and enjoy some freedom away from her family's eyes. Stephen was like a bless, to have someone, specially a 'foreigner', to actually like her.
Obviously, the clash of civilizations begin.
Nobody can deny that this is a complicated issue, and reality is harsh for a big part of Muslim women. Bad use and interpretation of religion, ignorant cultural traditions has it's impact on Muslim and Arabic women till today.
In order for a filmmaker to approach and explore such a difficult subject cinematically, the film with all it's components should be hired in an 'artistic' way to be able to convince people of it's case. If the artistic quality is low, it will affect the plot, the judgment, and it will turn into bad propaganda. Roba Nadda clearly had a message to deliver, but it failed miserably, this is bad propaganda.
Even for a non-practicing Muslim like me, I find this very. Infusing ridiculous events and scenes to get the viewer's attention is really a cheap way to handle such topic. The prayer and cleavage scene, the over-used oriental dancing scenes, the Muslims don't do this and that (although it is real), and the mother's ridiculous character with her cheap B-movie acting, and not to forget using music to stir up emotions, really (Spoiler coming up) There is a problem, but the film doesn't provide a 'real' solution, they don't approach it from a religious point of view, or even cultural. Through the film's length, all problems are shown, Sabah tells Stephen why she can't do this and that, until the development of the story to a dramatic acceptance, and a cheap ' Happily Ever After' ending. Just to be fair, Arsinée Khanjian acting was good, other than that, this is worthless.
Sabah, wears a Hijab. She met Stephen at a swimming pool, the only way where she can escape from her brother and his restriction. As she struggles with her self to take off her hijab, and get into her swimming suite, and enjoy some freedom away from her family's eyes. Stephen was like a bless, to have someone, specially a 'foreigner', to actually like her.
Obviously, the clash of civilizations begin.
Nobody can deny that this is a complicated issue, and reality is harsh for a big part of Muslim women. Bad use and interpretation of religion, ignorant cultural traditions has it's impact on Muslim and Arabic women till today.
In order for a filmmaker to approach and explore such a difficult subject cinematically, the film with all it's components should be hired in an 'artistic' way to be able to convince people of it's case. If the artistic quality is low, it will affect the plot, the judgment, and it will turn into bad propaganda. Roba Nadda clearly had a message to deliver, but it failed miserably, this is bad propaganda.
Even for a non-practicing Muslim like me, I find this very. Infusing ridiculous events and scenes to get the viewer's attention is really a cheap way to handle such topic. The prayer and cleavage scene, the over-used oriental dancing scenes, the Muslims don't do this and that (although it is real), and the mother's ridiculous character with her cheap B-movie acting, and not to forget using music to stir up emotions, really (Spoiler coming up) There is a problem, but the film doesn't provide a 'real' solution, they don't approach it from a religious point of view, or even cultural. Through the film's length, all problems are shown, Sabah tells Stephen why she can't do this and that, until the development of the story to a dramatic acceptance, and a cheap ' Happily Ever After' ending. Just to be fair, Arsinée Khanjian acting was good, other than that, this is worthless.
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