I literally had no
expectations of what a Tunisian film could be since I have had no prior
experience in either the film industry or with Tunisia. Although I must say
that a love affair was not struck up between me and Tunisian films I found that
a different perspective of movies did form. I was able to find a connection between
myself and the movie through its integrated use of metaphors and its pivot
around human sexuality. I’m very glad that the first Tunisian film I was able
to experience was the film Halfouine because it was a very general
coming of age film allowing me to compare it to the common American coming of
age film. This movie did a good job at capturing your mind and I felt
integrated into the Tunisian culture. It shockingly showed a very personal side
of this country that I probably would never had been allowed to witness unless
I had been a citizen.
The Tunisian culture is very split between the sexes and
this causes a rift in the sexual nature if its inhabitants. They seem confused
and almost scared of their sexuality and have this need to harness it and at
times even beat it out of the children. This was seen several times such as with
the interaction with Noura and his father. As Noura goes on this journey where
he discovers the sensuality that awakens around his age, you see him get almost
perverse and inappropriate. When he tries to undress the house maid while she
is sleeping is an act that is clearly wrong. However this peeping is his only way
to focus his sexual nature and to try to figure out what is going inside of his
body. This disconnect that the culture has with their bodies is a dangerous
thing that leads to prejudices not only between men and women but also between
heterosexual and homosexual individuals.
The normal American coming of age film would have been
about a kid going to school, having to deal with a bully, and succeeding at
winning over his secret crush. The Tunisian film Halfouin was able to
take several of those components and to exaggerate on them in a way that
exposes you to the Tunisian culture and daily life. This film is a lot more
personal than an American film where the emotions are dressed up and glamorized.
I felt, especially in scenes such as in the bath house, that I was a part of
Noura’s sexual mind and nature.
American films seem to
pivot upon their soundtracks, the background sounds are what really make the
scene. However, in the Tunisian film I heard very little music. The emotions
that are usually expelled due to the music where instead created from the
artistic use of the camera focusing on some sort of metaphor for a moment
before returning back to the movie. Two prominent instances that this occurs were
with the blood on the floor and with the bird trapped in the cage; two images
that provoked powerful emotions in a very different way than I am used to.
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