By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yousry Nasrallah
Starring: Ahmed Al Feshawy | Amr Waked | Hend Sabry | Menha Batraoui | Samah Anwar
Original language title: Genenet al asmak
Country: egypt, france, germany
Year: 2008
Running time: 111
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173708/
Bruce says: “Occasionally I recognize that I am out of step with a filmmaker who clearly loves his or her characters while I sit there finding them deplorable or pathetic. THE AQUARIUM is a strange film. Watching it, I was never sure whether I was supposed to like or dislike the characters. Likely there is more than one contributing factor: the Egyptian culture is relatively alien to me; and the film is, in spite of appearances, not character driven. The subject of THE AQUARIUM is fear and how it is used to force people into decisions they would regret afterwards. Fear is ubiquitous; it is an exploitation tool of politicians, media, corporate interests and religious groups. Some people are afraid of going deaf or feeling pain. Many men are afraid of losing control by showing emotion. Fear, no matter what form it takes, corrupts the soul.
“Two main characters drive THE AQUARIUM although there is very little plot to steer. The first is Laila, who hosts a radio talk show called ‘Night Secrets.’ She encourages people to call in and discuss their problem. Although a successful businesswoman, she still lives at home with her mother and brother. She yearns to be on her own. Youssef is an anesthesiologist who lives out of his car. He has a mistress who yearns for him to spend the night but he cannot afford that type of intimacy. His father is dying
of cancer which he finds difficult to accept. Youssef moonlights in an abortion clinic. On a broader level, fears abound over Bird Flu and the Muslim Brothers winning additional seats in Parliament. The Kifaya, a movement in opposition to Mubarak government and the possibility that Mubarak may transfer his power to his son Gamal, are demonstrating in the streets.
“Both Laila and Youssef interact with many other people in the course of their busy days. Occasionally those actors playing ancillary roles break character and talk directly to the viewer, explaining the dramatic situation and the inner self of Laila and Youssef. It is a clever technique and more so because the actors give their personal opinions about Youssef and Laila, not the opinions of the characters they play.
“Yousry Nasrallah, a disciple of acclaimed Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, claims that too often our relationship to life is one of ‘moving through’ as though what happens around us doesn’t concern us. The reason for that is not indifference, but fear. The people who populate large cities such as Cairo look at others around them as though they were viewing fish in an aquarium. (Some scenes take place in Khedive Ismael’s Grotto Garden which dates from 1867; in the early 1900s a Fish Garden was added.) This is an ambitious and disquieting film. 4 cats
“THE AQUARIUM screened at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.”