The Tunisian director Ferid Boughedir’s coming-of-age story “Halfounie - Boy of the terrace” is one of my favourite films. A couple of years ago I happened to watch another great film by him, “Un Été á La Goulette (a summer in Goulette) and just recently I managed to find a rare copy on DVD!
Synopsis:
“The year is 1967 in La Goulette - a small harbour town in the suburbs of Tunis where various cultures have lived together for ages in effortless harmony. Youssef, Jojo and Giuseppe are as inseparable as their three 16-year-old-daughters, Meriem, Gigi and Tina. In a fit of teenage provocation, the three girls swear that they’ll lose their virginity by the day of the procession of the Madonna. To make matters worse, each of them has her eyes on a boy of a different religion, thus challenging an inviolable taboo. This leads the three families to cut off all ties with one another. But the bonds tying the three fathers are too strong. They end up making up, more like brothers than ever, just before the Six Day War breaks out in the Middle East, tearing apart Jews and Arabs the world over.”
I love his films, combining the European cinematography with Eastern mentality. He has a way of unveiling the hypocrisies of the Islamic societies through subtle humour and charm! Highly Recommended!
