I was curious about this film, as it's about several women in modern day Algeria. Unfortunately, the story itself never caught my interest--mostly because the film felt more like a dispassionate film made by a documentarian instead of a full-length story about people. The bottom line is that I didn't care about these people nor their seedy lives.
The film is about three women: Goucem, a very screwed up young lady who's been having an affair with a married man for three years, Papicha (Goucem's mother) who is an ex-prostitute and Fif who is currently a prostitute. Their problems and concerns never really registered with me.
What I found interesting about the film was actually not the story (I didn't like it at all) but the views into modern Algeria. Though a Muslim nation, I was surprised at the nudity (it was graphic) and the very secular nature of the characters and situations. It flies in the face of stereotypes of Muslim nations--giving us a fuller view of the various facets of life and attitudes. But this, unfortunately, was not enough. The story left me amazingly cold and bored.
The film is about three women: Goucem, a very screwed up young lady who's been having an affair with a married man for three years, Papicha (Goucem's mother) who is an ex-prostitute and Fif who is currently a prostitute. Their problems and concerns never really registered with me.
What I found interesting about the film was actually not the story (I didn't like it at all) but the views into modern Algeria. Though a Muslim nation, I was surprised at the nudity (it was graphic) and the very secular nature of the characters and situations. It flies in the face of stereotypes of Muslim nations--giving us a fuller view of the various facets of life and attitudes. But this, unfortunately, was not enough. The story left me amazingly cold and bored.