A couple years ago, fresh from appearances at top-tier festivals - Venice, Rotterdam, Istanbul, etc., What A Wonderful World landed in New York City, for the CinemaEast Film Festival. The festival was a watershed event, bringing in a new breed of directors and films from Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, North Africa, Turkey, etc. What hit the screens were not the films of the old New Wave - Makhmalbaf, Kiarostami, et. al. The Village Voice, eminently respected when it comes to parsing cinema had this to say:
"Perhaps no entrant in this year's festival -- which includes 52 features, docs, and shorts -- better encapsulates the new direction of the Middle East film than Faouzi Bensaidi's What a Wonderful World."
Saul Austerlitz's festival review went on to observe that Bensaidi had created a thriller reminiscent of the Palestinian satirist, Elia Suleiman (Chronicle of a Disappearance), the French absurdist, Jacques Tati (Mon Oncle, Mr. Hulot's Holiday), and the American pulp-meister Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill), all rolled into a fast-moving crime drama-romantic fantasy featuring a cop, prostitute, hired assassin, hacker and myriad illegal immigrants.
Some film critics delight in describing a film by way of obscure references to other films and filmmakers - often seeming like elitist hooey. But in this case, the Village Voice was on the mark. Indeed, What A Wonderful World is a sexy, stylistic film, with comedic elements and pop music that combine to meet or exceed the requirements of world cinema audiences.
But there is much more to this film than slick packaging and escapist mainstream entertainment. We should note that Bensaidi could not have made this film in Eygpt, Iran, or Iraq. But Morocco is at the other end of the spectrum - there is no censorship and the government funds film production. With directorial freedom, Bensaidi's use of the camera, dialog, music, and narrative structure serve to underscore the contrasts in Moroccan society -- the difference in status between men and women, the internet versus urban devastation, authority versus opposition, loneliness in the midst of a teeming anonymous city, the legal versus underground economy, etc.
While What A Wonderful World provides an entertaining experience for the viewer, it also offers insightful social commentary - relevant to Morocco, the Arab World and beyond.
What a Wonderful World Suspense-Love Story
Director Faouzi Bensaidi, Morocco, 94 min, in Arabic & French,English subtitles. Not Rated [NR] Suggest PG.
SUN NOV 15, 4:00 (double-feature w/Summer Hours 6:30)
WED NOV 18, 7:30 (w/ post-film discussion)
NOTE: the trailer subtitles are in Spanish, and the film CWC is showing is in Arabic and French, with English subtitles.
SOCIALIZE:
Mohamed Elayyadi came to the United States from Morocco approximately thirteen years ago. With an MBA from Xavier University, he works in the financial sector and has taught at the Schilling School for Gifted Children. Currently, Mohamed is an adjunct professor at the Arabic Language and Culture Center, University of Cincinnati, where he teaches Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, endeavoring to help his students understand the peoples and cultures of the Arab world.
Mona Banoun is a student in the 2010 graduating class at the University of Cincinnati, majoring in International Affairs. Earlier this year Mona spent five months in Morocco as part of an exchange program, and looks forward to sharing her recent, vivid memories with the CWC audience. On the home front, in addition to her studies and a part-time job, she is active in volunteering with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Girl Scouts, etc.
Wednesday Social Hour (6:30 pm) hosted by:DISCUSS:
The NKU International Education Center
Leading the Wednesday post-film discussion are Mohamed Elayyadi, professor of Arabic at the University of Cincinnati; and UC International Affairs student Mona Banoun, recently returned from a five-month study program in Morocco.
Mohamed Elayyadi came to the United States from Morocco approximately thirteen years ago. With an MBA from Xavier University, he works in the financial sector and has taught at the Schilling School for Gifted Children. Currently, Mohamed is an adjunct professor at the Arabic Language and Culture Center, University of Cincinnati, where he teaches Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, endeavoring to help his students understand the peoples and cultures of the Arab world.
Mona Banoun is a student in the 2010 graduating class at the University of Cincinnati, majoring in International Affairs. Earlier this year Mona spent five months in Morocco as part of an exchange program, and looks forward to sharing her recent, vivid memories with the CWC audience. On the home front, in addition to her studies and a part-time job, she is active in volunteering with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Girl Scouts, etc.
About the Director
Director, writer and actor Faouzi Bensaïdi was born in Meknes, Morocco in 1967, and now spends his time between Casablanca and Paris. After studying at the Rabat Institute of Dramatic Art, in 1995 he moved to Paris and trained as an actor at the Paris National Acacdemy of Dramatic Arts.
In 1997, he directed his first short film, The Cliff (La Falaise), which won 23 prizes at festivals worldwide. In 1999, he co-wrote the script for Andre Techine's film, Loin. His two subsequent shorts, The Wall (Le Mur) and The Rain Line (Trajets), made in 2000, won prizes at the Cannes International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival.
His first feature film, A Thousand Months (Alf Shahr), premiered in 2003 to critical acclaim, winning the Pirx de la Jeunesse and Prix Premier Regard at Cannes. What a Wonderful World is his second feature film.
Cast
Kenza . . . Nezha Rahil
Kamel . . . Faouzi Bensaïdi
Souad . . . Fatima Attif
Hicham . . . El Mehdi Elaâroubi
Hicham’s Father . . . Mohamed Bastaoui
Fatima . . . Hajar Masdouki
Credits
Written and directed by . . . Faouzi Bensaidi
Additional writing by . . . Marie-Therese Prunier
Produced by . . . Laurent Lavolé, Isabelle Pragier, Bénédicte Bellocq, Souad Lamriki, Bettina Brokemper, Johannes Rexin
Cinematography . . . Gordon Spooner
Editing . . . Faouzi Bensaidi, Veronique Lange
Sound . . . Patrice Mendez, Tobias Fleig
Music . . . Jean-Jacques Hertz, François Roy
Festivals
What a Wonderful World
by Larry Thomas, WVXU Cincinati, 11-15-09
Sometimes you go to a movie and are puzzled by what is on screen. And at the end, wonder "what did I just see?" What a Wonderful World is just such a film. It's primarily about a traffic cop; her best friend, who is a prostitute and housecleaner; and the prostitute's favorite client, a contract killer. Almost sounds like a setup for a joke. But it's a setup for an unusual film with a tremendous amount of style that will dazzle your eye and delight your ear.
Filmed in Casablanca, in French and Arabic, What a Wonderful World has some of the most impressively framed shots I've seen in years. There are tracking shots, wide-angle wide screen images that fill the screen, vast high-angle downward perspectives, and some great close-ups, all courtesy of the camera of Gordon Spooner, a relative newcomer to the cinematography field, who works primarily in France. The whole package is written, edited, directed by, and starring Fauozi Bensaidi, and it's an obvious labor of love.
In addition to the three main characters, there's a young man who is doing everything possible to immigrate to Europe, and his wheelchair bound father who tries to help.
The action is accompanied by an unusual selection of music by Jean-Jacques Hertz and Philippe Roy, along with regional pop tunes. In many scenes, visuals are choreographed to the soundtrack, so that it's almost like you're watching a musical. Once it's made obvious that one of the film's big influences is the Bollywood genre from India, in which any kind of film always has out-of-the-blue musical numbers, it all jells. The performances, the style, the music, the photography, all blend together into something amazingly unique.
What a Wonderful World is not a comedy, but it has humor. It's not a musical, but your toes will be tapping. It is a wistful, tragic love story in an exotic location, made by filmmakers who have style to spare. And once it's over, your first thought may very well be… I need to see that again.
The unrated What a Wonderful World is a presentation of Cincinnati World Cinema, and is showing at Covington's Carnegie Arts Center. Performances are today at 4 pm, with an encore showing Wednesday evening at 7:30. There will be a cash bar social hour preceding the film, and discussion following. I'm guessing there will be lots to talk about.