Ashab wala Aaz

Written by - Mohamed Badr:

On January 20, 2022, the Netflix platform, an American entertainment company specialized in providing live streaming and video-on-demand services, launched its first original production in the Middle East, which is the film "Friends and Friends."

The film stars: Mona Zaki, Iyad Nassar, Adel Karam, Diaman Abu Aboud, Fouad Yammine, all of them with George Khabbaz, Nadine Labaki, and the girl Shanid Shaaya, Raymond Azar, Mona Saliba, music by Khaled Mzannar, montage by Sherine Debs, director of photography, Sufyan Al-Fani, Artistic producer Raja Zgheib, executive producer Mayada Al-Haraki, production: Gianluca Chakra, Mario Haddad, Mohamed Hefzy, and Hisham Al-Ghanem, Italian story: Paolo Genovese, Italian script: Filippo Bologna and others, Arabic script and dialogue: Wissam Samira and Gabriel Yammine, and the Arab film directed by Wissam Samira.

2018

An agreement was concluded between the Front Row Filmed Entertainment/Kuwait National Cinema Company conglomerate and Medusa Film to grant the rights to reshoot the successful film (Perfect Strangers) in the Arabic language.

The original Italian film (Perfetti Sconosciotti) was released in 2016, produced by (Medusa Film) and (Lotus Productions) in partnership with (Leon Film) and others, and achieved great success at the box office immediately after it was shown in cinemas, in addition to wide acceptance in critical circles, where It grossed $20 million at the Italian box office and $31 million at the global box office. The film has won several awards since its release, including the David Di Donatello Award for Best Film and Best Screenplay, in addition to the Best Screenplay Award of 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival in the Best International Story Award competition.

(Perfect Strangers) was re-filmed in several international languages, including the Spanish version, which achieved total profits of more than $25 million, the Greek version, which achieved total profits of $1.8 million, and the Turkish version, which achieved total profits of $1.7 million. As for the French version of the film, called (Le Go), it was shown in French theaters and ranked second at the box office. Work is currently underway to film the film in German, Swedish, Korean, and Russian. In 2016, The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to remake the film in English, with Gianni Nunnari, producer of "The Departed" and "Shutter Island," producing it.

The idea of the movie "Friends or Dearest":

Between your public, private and secret life, what if what a person stores on his personal phone was revealed, especially in front of his wife and friends, and will they accept you with all that is wrong with you after this discovery, or will they open fire on you?

Movie summary:

The film's events revolve around a group of seven friends who meet and decide to play a game where everyone places their cell phones on the dinner table, on the condition that all new messages or calls are in full view of everyone. The game, which was initially fun and interesting, soon turns into a barrage of scandals and secrets that no one knew about.

Profile of the most prominent personalities:

Maryam: Like the rest of the heroes, she has passed the age of 30. She wears a blue dress. She is an Egyptian housewife, married and has two children: Sarah and Imad. She lives with her businessman husband and her mother-in-law in Lebanon. She forgot that she was a woman and turned into the man of the house. She is secretly addicted to alcohol. She is weak in the face of opposing anyone. Men are online and you just enjoy chatting with him. Her role is embodied by Egyptian actress Mona Zaki.

Sharif: An Alexandrian-Egyptian businessman, a handsome man married to Maryam. He loses his passion for her because he feels that she has become his friend and not his wife, so he weakens in the face of a whim with one of the girls through a chat accompanied by sexual pictures. His role is played by Jordanian actor Iyad Nassar.

Mai: A psychiatrist from an aristocratic family. She wears a red blouse. She is married and has a teenage daughter. She is not satisfied with the shape of her body. She is conservative in raising her daughter, and at the same time she is in a relationship with her husband's friend, a plastic surgeon. Her role is embodied by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki.

Walid: A plastic surgeon married to "May" tries to control his behavior by going to a psychiatrist other than his wife, which leads him to rationality in dealing with matters, even regarding a fateful matter for his daughter. His role is played by Lebanese actor George Khabbaz.

Ziad: A materialistic Lebanese novice taxi driver, newly married, with a previous relationship and a secret relationship with his office manager that resulted in a pregnancy, and he began a new relationship with the wife of his friend, "Walid." His role is prostrated by Lebanese media personality Adel Karam.

Jana: A veterinarian, wearing a yellow dress, newly married to "Ziyad," a womanizer who is in a relationship with his office manager and "May," his friend's wife. Her role is embodied by Lebanese actress Diamane Abu Abboud.

Rabie: A good-natured, single man who deceives everyone that he has a girlfriend. He loses his job for a reason that all the women in the film tend to like, but he is the opposite of what he is. His role is played by Lebanese comedian Fouad Yammine.

Really good flow of event's fun full of secrets it captivates you plus really good acting i would say hands down its mona zaki best performance to date.

Having friends for Dinner is generally a good idea. Laying all the cards on the table (relationship wise) and hoping the secrets each individual is holding back will not "ruin" the party ... well that is just plain ridiculous. And not thought through one might add.

Having said that and if you can suspend your disbelief and work with the cliches we are presented, the actors are doing their best. We have some lighter moments, but also a lot of darker moments, that overshadow a lot. Depending on your mood and how you will take and interpret things ... well every end is a beginning. And every beginning is an ... end? Not sure about that one. Anyway, be prepared for a lot of dialog and a lot of "exposure" (not physical that is)...

A very nice Egyptian-Lebanese production. Breaks a lot of taboos found in the Arab world.

Great dialogue, very amusing music, good directing. Roles are played to perfection. The setting, décor and camera is adding up to the suspens and the build up of the stories.

Set in just one location, great use of the different places in it.

I'm a big fan of the original Italian movie to an extent that I can memorize all of its dialogues and reactions, so I was extremely excited as an Arab to see this movie.

What's wrong with this Arabic version? Well, the overall ambiance and cinematography were so good, with some interesting adjustments ( the traditional Arabic dishes for example) , the actors fitted perfectly with their original peers, but this wasn't enough unfortunately. Mona Zaki's performance was horrible with all that screaming and overreacting, she ruined the whole movie. The reactions were immature, you keep waiting for the characters to express a specific feeling, but they fail to do so. In general, it's not even comparable to the Italian movie and I still wonder how can Nadine Labaki be involved in such a movie without being the director? Pretty sure she could take it to another level of proficiency if she was the director.