Friday, September 5, 2008

Une Chanson dans la tête - ميلودراما حبيبي


Trailer for Melodrama Habibi

Hani Tamba released this long fiction, his first one in France, a pity that it wasn't released earlier in Lebanon this crowded summer. My beliefs is that it would have compete well with the other American movies. In France, it might not be considered as general public movie, but the first days it was a hit I suppose. The movie made a great bi-lingual movie, although some lines may not seem as natural for Lebanese (an oracle which speaks almost exclusively in French!) which reveals the Lebanese openness to other cultures. Behind the story, the most highlighted theme that we may extract is the focus on the memory, and how weak are humans relying on it. This theme can be touched in the director's award winning short After Shave where we can find other common subjects. One of these, is his choice of the music composer, Khaled Mouzanar whose talent marked his wife's movie as well. Regarding the cast, I was excited with Julia Kassar's presence, it's a shame that her role was so short, even though her talent was shining in the little space she was given.
Even though the ending was a bit pessimistic for Lebanon future, in my opinion, this Tamba's first feature was a success, only missing its release in Lebanon.