This is day of seven at the Red Sea Festival. I had a chance to visit the historical city of Jeddah yesterday. The festival has provided services for guests to go sightseeing around the historical part of the city. Over the course of this 2-hour trip we saw many historical buildings in Jeddah, some of them eight centuries old. We learned about the history of the city and about the time it was dominated by Portuguese. We heard about the history of the Ottomans and Saudis. This trip gave us the chance to try some local food and drink, and to closely observe the traditional architecture of the city.
One of the outstanding films I watched on the sixth day of the Red Sea Festival, was Neighbor, a good and well-made film made by Mano Khalil. This film shows Syria 40-year-ago when the Kurdish inhabited area was split into two. Some families couldn’t get in touch; parents and children were separated. The film showed us the tribal conflicts of that decade and the hatred towards Jews in this period. We learn about that bitter period through the story of several Kurdish families. This is a film with several layers and some time was needed to adjust to it. Events unfold gradually and in seemingly disparate ways. But with time, we discover the connections between them. There are touching and impactful moments in this film which made us face human cruelty and war-time violence.
The film has an important humanitarian message. A message of peace and reconciliation, that people should not get captivated by their political and religious differences. That people should know that when governments are at war, they do not have to be victims of political ideology, but should fight against it; the ideology which serves only itself to the detriment of the nation. It was a very enjoyable film with brilliant acting that made us reflect on the fact that in the Middle East, which hasn’t entirely succumb to capitalism, human relations might still have an important role to play.
The second film I recommend is Huda Salon, another film by Hany Abu-Assad, a famous Palestinian director who brings us to a time some decades ago, when there were serious battles between Palestine Liberation groups and hidden Israeli organizations and how people became victims of these wars. The story is about a woman, who enters a beauty salon owned by Huda for hair dressing. However, this ordinary visit turns sour when Huda blackmails the mother to have her work for the secret service of the occupying force. The film shows her becoming a victim of an event that she had no role in it. She is innocent but no one supports her, no family, no friend and not even the intelligence organization. It pictures the loneliness of people in these power struggles. Once again it is the story of someone at odds with the political system. It is a tragic situation. She had no role in the events, it is not her fault, and she now wonders what her destiny will be.
It is an influential film on the meaning of torture, liberation, and to what extent these liberation groups can judge those who join them against their own societies. Of course, the director wants to be hopeful at the end, but that could be both the strength and Achilles Heel of the film because it lacks an appropriate connection with what’s gone before in the script.