Interesting Arabic film:
Itla men Mazaji (2019), directed by Abdullah Al-Salman
Main actor: Ahmad Al-Onan
About a wee taxi man in Kuwait. He laughs a lot. His friend is into social media like Instagram and Snapchat etc. The friend persuades him to join him in posting stuff. It's the taxi man's way of talking in general or way of saying things straight that, when videoed by his friend, attract attention, and then followers. The film is made on a shoestring. It is a far cry from the slick operation you'll witness in your average even lower grade Western cinematic production, but this taxi man character is worth watching the film for.
His name is Ahmad Al-Onan. He has character and personality in buckets. When he gets pissed off he ain't kidding. What pisses him off? Well, there's a bizarre scene in which a very overweight passenger who is listening to music on his earbuds and exclaiming Wow every few seconds pisses him off. 'Are you crazy?' he inquires. Funnier is a scene in which a more respectable Sheik-like fellow gets in and, because they are, somehow, discussing the joys of poetry, with echoes of the classic image of Arabic culture in the air, and then insists on telling his own poem. The wee taxi driver listens politely as he drives. But you can see by the look on his face that he doesn't appreciate the garbage, in strict literary terms, coming out of the mouth of his customer. To the extent that he slams on the brakes eventually and orders the Sheik out. It's made funnier because it's just about bad poetry but also because he does look actually angry. Hilarious!
I have never seen an Arabic culture-derived film, so my eyes are wide, as though seeing an entirely new world. The way people communicate with each other, their gestures, their way of speaking, much closer to a Latin temperate than I would have guessed. All astonishing to see. Sometimes overpowering. But because it's an outrageous comedy, it is also sweet and funny and it is great way to take a peek into a world and a culture that is often simply seen as alien by Western people, speaking straight.
It is very unsmooth! It is often ridiculous! But it is sometimes very funny and the main character is always engaging. His friendliness and his affableness are attractive. Ahmad Al-Onan is an actor who deserves attention. I just hope that whatever he delivers to the screen is not diluted were he to become, well, famous outside of the Arabic world.
