Masquerades and World Cinema at MoMA

Check out the Algerian gem Masquerades (TFF 2009), screening this week at the Museum of Modern Art as part of the Global Lens series.



Masquerades (Mascarades) is the story of the complex struggle between tradition and change in modern day Algeria. Mounir, played by director Lyes Salem, is a gardener with a narcoleptic sister Rym (Sarah Reguieg), whom he fears will never marry. Mounir finds her a wealthy suitor, but she has ideas of her own; she and Khliffa (Mohamed Bouchaïb), the eccentric town artist, are madly in love. What ensues is absolute chaos: sandstorms, car chases, scandals, and weddings, with a narcoleptic in the mix, all captured with beautiful cinematography and accompanied by vibrant music.

Director Salem shows the complex role of women in Algeria throughout Masquerades. Rym is a defiant woman who sings loudly in the back of the car, refuses to wear her headscarf, and sneaks late-night chats with her lover Khliffa. Though to the outsider it may seem that Mounir and the men are the ones in control of things, we quickly see that the power lies in the hands of the female characters and that Mounir must yield to them. Early in the film Mounir struggles to find a microwave for his wife who barely lets him in the house until he promises she will get one. In Salem's film, the Algerian women go after what they want with success.

"This is the nature of women in the Mediterranean Sea area," says director Salem. "I think the Algerian woman deserves the image we saw in the movie."

Rym defies tradition and makes her own way in the film. "I wanted her to symbolize Algeria," Salem says of the character Rym. "The heroine of this movie is torn between her brother and lover: the former stills clings to the past and seeks to impose his will even if through lies. As to her lover, he is open and looks to the future with an open mind, but he is hesitant." Rym's lover Khliffa is both intimidated and amazed by Rym's strong spirit. In the end, it is Rym that decides her destiny for herself, which seems to be what Salem sees for his country of Algeria.

This TFF alum is also Algeria's Oscar submission for "Best Foreign Film."

Masquerades will screeen this Friday, January 15, at MoMA at 7:30 pm, and again on January 27. Learn about MoMA ticketing.

Other films playing in the MoMA Global Lens, 2010 series include Dioses (Gods), Choi Voi (Adrift), Vaho (Becloud), My Tehran for Sale, El cuarto de Leo (Leo's Room), Dixia de tiankong (The Shaft), and Ocean of an Old Man.