Sabah (2005)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Powerful

Best movie ever!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Sabah's theme is definitely familiar.It tackles the clash between Arab culture and tradition against the Western one.Although many have seen this in a lot of films,this Canadian film somewhat refreshing due to its being light and downbeat.The film is about Sabah,a 40-year-old Muslim spinster that who still lives at home in Toronto.She looks after her mother since her father died and is somewhat the person who holds the family together in times of crisis and difficult situation.Majid,who is her brother,still upholds the Arab culture and tradition particularly treating women a class lower compared to men and who is still in favor of arranged marriage. His daughter Souhaire,played by the gorgeous Fadia Nadda,is the modern in his views as she is against an arranged marriage that father wants her to have.Also,we get to see Sabah fall in love with a Canadian divorcée and faces a lot of difficulties in their relationship particularly when she wants to hide it from the family particularly his brother due to being a foreigner.Sabah tries to focus on how the women - like Sabah and Souhaire - who don't play by the rules when it comes to the tradition they have to uphold and their arguments with Majid particularly when in comes to having an arranged marriage.Although it is light and funny,I felt that the resolution of the story was somewhat forced and far from being believable considering that it was expected to have a happy ending especially when it comes to the subject it tackles.Also,I felt that some of the characters aren't interesting enough for the viewer to really care about.Added to that,I felt that the dancing scenes were somewhat out of place and the conversation mixing English and a foreign language serve as a distraction to the story.Finally,if not for the presence of Fadia Nadda,this film would be somewhat boring as it doesn't really elicit that much laughter from the other cast.But nevertheless,this film manages to entertain despite of the fact that it could have been a better one.

I don't LOVE many movies, but this one I DO LOVE! The story offers us an opportunity to get in touch with the very human part of who we are. Love is one of those few languages we all speak around the globe and there could never be boundaries to confine it, even the boundaries set by the training of a traditional religious family.I am an Arab who grew up in a traditional Muslim family in Damascus, Syria and have a somewhat similar story to that of Sabah, as I married a non-Arab, white with blue eyes, American man. I find stories like this refreshing as they go against every stereotype that boxed-minded people have about Arabs and Muslims. It is a story that does not fit into any mold, and forces the viewer to review their position and inner attitudes about another religion or culture.This movie is powerful in a sense that it stands in the face of all western propaganda regarding Arabs, and paints Arabs for who they really are: human beings who live in every day life, fall in love, have joys and sorrows, and in their hearts are very generous and compassionate people.

We watched this movie last night, eagerly awaiting an entertaining and thoughtful piece, based on the plot summary on the DVD box and on past work of the lead actress and the executive producer, Atom Egoyan, one of the best contemporary directors in Canada if not in the world.Were we ever disappointed! The plot is predictable and boring, presenting a terribly simplistic view of Canada and its Christian and Muslim people. The acting was consistently bad as the actors stumbled from one stereotypical cliché (the lead Christian character is a carpenter (!) whose workshop is full of more large crosses than there are Christian churches in Toronto) to another as the director tried to deliver her pedantic message about how "appropriate" inter-ethnic relationships will magically resolve all our problems overnight, be it social, political, economic, health-related, intellectual, existential... even environmental I'm sure!At least one Canadian cliché was left out (perhaps accidentally forgotten) - the movie takes place in the summer rather than the winter. Alas, the lovely summer shots of parks presented just a small relief in an otherwise wasted 1.5 hrs.

A beautiful, funny and entertaining story which brings back memories of another indie Canadian film a few years ago called DOUBLE HAPPINESS by Mina Shum. Sabah is the name and film title about a 40 year old single Muslim woman who meets and dates a non-Muslim man and tries to hide it from her domineering brother who's in charge of running the family. Sounds serious but it's a light hearted comedy which has some serious moments. Story is about family loyalty, romance and friendship. Great performances by the beautiful and one of Canada's most outstanding actresses, Arsinee Khanjian as Sabah and Shawn Doyle as her non-Muslim boyfriend, well-known series lead from the Canadian TV series "The Eleventh Hour". Overall, a wonderful film. Thumbs up and hope it's a Genie contender this year.