i watched this movie last night, it's a sweet movie presenting a very expressive picture comprising a lot of good elements: lighting, colors, music and of course acting. the movie takes place in a beauty salon where we meet 4 of our main 5 heroines, they work as hairdressers and spend most of the time together so we come to see their high and low moments. in a near by tailoring shop lives the fifth heroine, a lady in her fifties together with her funny, a little bit, crazy mom.
each of the 5 heroines has her own story which gives an example for a wider range of Lebanese women. we've a girl who's about to get married but lost her virginity and finally finds a solution in a surgery, another who desperately dreams of becoming an actress and relentlessly seeks casting tests, she also stands at the gates of old age but tries to fool herself and others by pretending to belong to a younger category. besides, there is another homosexual girl , whose appearance, attitude tells of her sexual orientation. yet we just see a covert indication of a mutual admiration between her and one of the salon's clients. may be if she found a true love in her life she wouldn't have gone that way, who knows.
then comes my favorite character in the movie which is the old dressmaker who finds a chance, may be her final chance, for love with one of her male clients. as usual, she hesitates to take the chance. this reaction emphasizes the Arab world's attitude towards old women, those past 50. the society harshly denies ladies of this category their right to love , to take the last train for happiness before life comes to an end , it imprisons them within the memories of the past and monotony of the present.
finally comes the character played by the actress/director/scriptwriter Nadine Labky. Layal is the leader of the salon team and falls in love with a married man. on the other hand, there's the policeman who works in the street where her salon is located and has a crush on her. yet, she is so involved in her relationship with that married guy, who seems not to care much about her, that she fails to notice the one who really cares.
I find Nadine to be the best actress of the whole group with her oriental features and deep eyes. as a director, she managed , together with the music and the lighting, to create an atmosphere of warmth and intimacy - that of a girlish world filled with laughs, tears , happiness and pain. besides the movie shows the wonderful unity and coexistence between people from various religious and social backgrounds.
however, i find Nadine the writer not as good as the actress or director. the movie could have been much much deeper and more effective. i believe the seeds of each character were well sown but they weren't given the suitable circumstances to grow maturely. the movie is sweet but shallow when it comes to character building.
each of the 5 heroines has her own story which gives an example for a wider range of Lebanese women. we've a girl who's about to get married but lost her virginity and finally finds a solution in a surgery, another who desperately dreams of becoming an actress and relentlessly seeks casting tests, she also stands at the gates of old age but tries to fool herself and others by pretending to belong to a younger category. besides, there is another homosexual girl , whose appearance, attitude tells of her sexual orientation. yet we just see a covert indication of a mutual admiration between her and one of the salon's clients. may be if she found a true love in her life she wouldn't have gone that way, who knows.
then comes my favorite character in the movie which is the old dressmaker who finds a chance, may be her final chance, for love with one of her male clients. as usual, she hesitates to take the chance. this reaction emphasizes the Arab world's attitude towards old women, those past 50. the society harshly denies ladies of this category their right to love , to take the last train for happiness before life comes to an end , it imprisons them within the memories of the past and monotony of the present.
finally comes the character played by the actress/director/scriptwriter Nadine Labky. Layal is the leader of the salon team and falls in love with a married man. on the other hand, there's the policeman who works in the street where her salon is located and has a crush on her. yet, she is so involved in her relationship with that married guy, who seems not to care much about her, that she fails to notice the one who really cares.
I find Nadine to be the best actress of the whole group with her oriental features and deep eyes. as a director, she managed , together with the music and the lighting, to create an atmosphere of warmth and intimacy - that of a girlish world filled with laughs, tears , happiness and pain. besides the movie shows the wonderful unity and coexistence between people from various religious and social backgrounds.
however, i find Nadine the writer not as good as the actress or director. the movie could have been much much deeper and more effective. i believe the seeds of each character were well sown but they weren't given the suitable circumstances to grow maturely. the movie is sweet but shallow when it comes to character building.