À la recherche du mari de ma femme

The director of this film,Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi explained once that his father and also his grandfather are polygamous , that he spent a nice time in Fes among his family.But he is not polygamous he wanted to tell a story about polygamy with humour.So he gave us the story of a rich jeweler of Fes who has three wives and that the third of them is a little younger and demanding.So he has repudiated her three times and must find a solution to be with her again. I enjoyed very comedy about a very serious theme, the polygamy because it was made with a lot of tenderness and humour.

First of all, what a title!

If that doesn't make you chuckle or at least smile, maybe you're not a good candidate for this brand of humor... why would someone be looking for the husband of his wife anyway? Is this some kind of Moroccan joke? Almost, it's an Islamic joke, you didn't know Muslims had a sense of humor too? Well, this is a movie whose entire plot revolves around a man, married to three women, and by a crazy twist of events, ending up looking for the husband of her wife... and this is not even the film's point, but the punchline... after eighty minutes of a plot as mazy as Fez' labyrinthine streets.

The Hadj is a fat and jolly ferret-nosed jewel merchant who spends his time smiling to his customers, mostly women, with that little twinkle in his eyes that betrays naughtier intentions... and rarely gets unnoticed by his neighbor, competitor, and occasional adviser. But when the film opens, the Hadj is the master of the house with three devoted wives, treated with foremost respect and dignity... but that's on the surface. Directed by a man, Mohammed Abderrahmane Tazi, the film was written with a woman, Farida Belyazid, and while it never totally dismisses polygamy (which as you know is permitted under conditions in Islam), it doesn't blindly endorse it. Or let's just say, even guys would think twice before trying it after watching this comedy gem.

Indeed, the film finds quite a pleasant way to show the practical functioning of polygamy. In theory, a man is allowed to have no more than four women if he's capable to treat them equally. In reality, it is just impossible. The first and oldest wife, Lalla Hobbi (literally "Lady 'My Love') is the matriarch and the most respected figure, even by the two other concubines, she's played by veteran actress Amina Rachid. The second is Lalla Rabea (Naima Lamcharki) younger and unlike her predecessor, she could give boys to the Hadj, not that it earns her a special status, he often treats her like a laying hen who spoils her boys too much. And last but not least, there's Houda, in her 20's, played by lovable Mouna Fettou. The establishing shot of the film shows her drying clothes on the balcony while teasing one of the neighbors with her dashing smile.

She might be married but she values her charm and looks more for herself than her husband (who could be her father). Interestingly, the film doesn't start with the central figure but shows the backside, the house and how the three women seem to accept their situation as long as harmony prevails... not that there's not rivalry running but Karma is more concerned about the man, who's got a special treatment for each of his wife, the most revealing is his enjoyment of Houda dancing for him while dangling his feet like a child and having a sip of whiskey in the process.

"Hadj" is a term used for Mecca pilgrims, a religious word, we're in traditional Fez, but the man is eager to enjoy the privilege given by the charia without following the rules, that says a lot about his real involvement in the things of the 'Din'. Hadj isn't a bad guy, he's a clown victim of his own ego, which shows in the scene where he catches Houda flirting with a stranger and bursts out of hysterical anger, making a scene that channeled comedic legend Louis de Funès and became an instant classic in Moroccan cinema.

The repudiation scene is a masterstroke of comedy, a brilliantly directed moment working like a verbal tennis game where each of Houda and her soon-to-be ex-husband exchanges the hits, Rabea tries to calm Houda, but each word is like a blow leaving the poor man speechless and crying under Lalla Hobbi's chest while she mechanically taps his back. From that moment, the man will follow a descent into childish immaturity until becoming a local joke. And Bachir Skiredj' talent is no joke, a former clown and admirer of Chaplin whom he met and imitated, he had all the makings of a great comedian, his performance on a comical level is simply extraordinary, swinging between pathos and grotesque while the three women maintain their dignity.

Yet the film avoids the patronizing trap with women. And there's a slow and subdued subplot involving Houda discovering the 'modern world' with her childhood friend. It's a very interesting contrast with their initial scene where they were peeping over the men and commenting on their looks (just exactly as men would do in other scenes) and then being confronted to men who'd treat them like whores. Men would always be men (and there's a lot of progress to make in my country when it comes to this issue) but keeping under the disguise of tradition and convenience is the best way to conceal our deepest impulses.

That's what it is, it's all about impulses, why a man would want a second or a third or a fourth wife? And feel lonely anyway. Why would he repudiate one and regret it the day after? There are many lessons for the man to learn, one of them is that he had taken his wives for granted, realizing he lost his aura with them and that they wouldn't tolerate a third wife, except if it was Houda. And the only possible solution according to Islamic law was to have her married with someone else, then marry her again after repudiation... making the situation worse for his reputation, and even worse for his ego but so satisfying. Indeed, isn't Karma a bitch when a man who had three women at once had to end up sharing his favorite with a total stranger?

Under its vaudeville veil, the film is far more wiser and subtler than your average screwball comedy, it is served by an impeccable casting and takes us in an unforgettable immersion into Moroccan's traditional society with its medina, its merchants, bakers, butchers, tailors... and plotters. Speaking of plots, it's no wonder it was a huge success when it came out in Morocco in the end of 1993, along with the "Visitors" another comedy classic. Yet unlike "The Visitors", IMDb has no image and no review for "Searching For my Wife's Husband".

I guess if it takes one Moroccan user to do justice to this Moroccan screwball classic and provide both, I'm glad it had to be me.