La Saison Des Hommes Sonata Premiere

Graceful, subtly polemical film about the restrictions imposed on women by Arabic tradition. A troubled boy forces his mother and sisters to return to their isolated family home, the scene of their earlier domestic imprisonment. Tunisian cinema is hardly likely to burn up the box office, but this modest film is worth a look. Told in a combination of scenes in the present and in flashback, The Season Of Men (La Saison Des Hommes) tells of the Tunisian extended family of Aicha (Abdallah). Aicha lives in Tunis with her grown-up daughters Meriem and Emna (Ali and Sabri), plus a disturbed younger son, Aziz (Hergal). Aicha's husband, Said (Gennoun), is estranged, living in his carpet shop. When Aziz's behaviour becomes unmanageable, Aicha, her daughters and companion Zeineb (Bouzouita) decide to return to their family home on the isolated island of Djerba, rather than put the boy in an institution. Although it drags somewhat, writer-director Tlatli's film is a quiet indictment of the restrictive traditions of Islam and is valuable both for its insights into an unfamiliar culture and its sumptuous grace.