Shouf
Shouf Habibi! (*1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
The film follows an atypical Moroccan family trying to adjust
to the very different society in Holland. The parents struggle
to enforce their cultural heritage while their children struggle
to break from the tradition. Faced with subtle racism, Abdullah
tries to decide whether to live the stereotypical life of crime
or try to go straight. Leila wants to find her own husband,
even if that means disgracing the family to do so. Can the
family stick together and find their place?
The movie is supposed to be a comedy. It does contain a few
slightly humorous moments, but it relies too heavily on telegraphed
jokes and satirical social circumstances. I’m sure if
you are from Morocco or Holland, there’s a greater chance
for you to find most of this stuff hilarious. There’s
little to relate to for someone in my position, and too much
of the comedy rests on conventional techniques that are losing
their flavor. We needed more unexpected jokes and circumstances.
In fact, the story itself is rather typical. We’ve all
seen it before. The kids rebel against the traditions and cultures
the parents attempt to impose on them. Individuality versus
Custom: It’s as simple as that. If you’ve seen
it once, you’ve seen it every time. There is nothing
new to add. It would be difficult to make a successful drama
out of it these days. A comedy seems nearly impossible.
The characters don’t experience much of a progression
throughout the film. They don’t flesh out past the two
dimensions. However, the relationships between them are good.
They’re basic as well, but the outright stubbornness
acts as a perfect catalyst. In “Bend
It Like Beckham” the
struggle took no new directions and quickly got boring and
repetitive. Here, there are three different children that have
to fight with their overbearing parents and with each other.
Abdullah also has to prove himself to his friends. There are
various angles and aspects of life covered to keep your interest.
In fact, the most interesting part of the film was Ab’s
interactions with his friends. It also proved to be the most
comical.
Writer/director Albert Ter Heerdt has done a good job with
this film, although I doubt it will touch the American audience
in the same vein as it would abroad. The acting is pretty good,
but not outstanding. The film is not bad, but it just wasn’t
as exciting or fun or as new as it could have been. Essentially
this is just another typical formulaic piece of work. Maybe
the sequel (“Shouf Shouf Barakka!”) will be better.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
|