trimmerb1234 "What is a Mum?" a British television advertisement once famously asked - the answer (in the 1950s) was someone who cooked for her family, washed their clothes cleaner than anyone else and was an attractive help mate for Dad.A (modest Tunisian widowed) Mum we are asked to believe, ditches 40 years of ingrained modesty and glides without too much difficulty into shaking her booty for a male audience at a sleazy club where patrons arrange sexual liaisons with the dancers. That she starts an affair with one of the musicians, perhaps 15 years her junior, who in turn dates her daughter and that she coolly and with utter poise deals with this novel highly delicate and unconventional situation. And finally at her daughter's wedding Mum dances erotically for her son-in-law/lover and all's well that ends well.The over extended soft porn love-making scene between Mum and future son-in-law rather gives the game away - the Tunisian director wants to demonstrate that her film (and liberated Tunisians) need cede little in terms of liberation to modern day France. Additionally it is sending a message that Tunisian women brought up in traditional ways can instantly and deftly adopt very sophisticated attitudes disregarding binding religious and cultural taboos both privately and in public.For those Tunisians who admire European sexual liberation and female emancipation it is presumably a brave landmark film and a blow struck against the old ways.As a window on modern Tunisia it seems unconvincing even nonsensical however well shot and in the case of Mum, charmingly acted.

Cinemaphyle So few films from the Maghreb make it to USA screens, so see "Satin Rouge" for that alone: it's a rare chance to witness life in North Africa (in this case, Tunisia). There's an early morning cab ride through a charming, graceful Mediterranean cityscape and beach scenes that made me want to jump onto the Internet to research my next vacation - on the coast near Tunis. It was all far lovelier than I'd ever imagined.Then there's the film itself. It offers a nicely-crafted, beautifully understated exposition of a shy widow's breaking out of her shell through the medium of traditional belly-dance, although the plot frog-leaps at times and the more literal-minded may be left wondering how certain developments came about. But the sensitive face of the actress who plays the lead role carries you over the spaces in the story.The music is terrific - definitely an element in the film. Supporting cast (particularly the professional belly dancer) felt thoroughly authentic.I found the mother-daughter relationship quite convincing, although if I were the daughter, I might have wondered where my mother was all those evenings! Worth seeing, particularly if you enjoy opening windows onto different cultures.

argv `Satin Rouge' is the second film from Raja Amari from Tunisia, an island off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. As is usually the case with foreign films that go through scrupulous hurdles before making it to the United States, it's pretty good. The appeal to American audiences will probably be limited to the art-film culture, which is unfortunate, since what the film has most to offer is the stuff that mainstream Americans should see: a look into every day life in a Middle Eastern country where Arab and Western cultures integrate well.The plot of `Satin Rouge' is rather simple: Lilia is a widow who wants to live life again. Her teenage daughter is getting interested in boys and integrating more western ways into her lifestyle. One night, while trying to follow her daughter's activities into the night, Lilia inadvertently discovers a cabaret. She enters to find women belly dancing in skimpy outfits, reacting both horrified and intrigued at the same time. Her desire to find her own individuality and break the moralistic mold of her upbringing has her frequenting the cabaret nightly. The other dancers befriend her, and before she knows it, she's belly-button deep in the club scene herself. As the plot thickens and romances develop, Lilia and her daughter both find themselves learning more about life than either of them bargained for.There's no question this is a cute movie. The characters are amiable, although none of them are particularly deep, nor do they find themselves confronting and resolving difficult issues beyond the plot points. It's a simple little story, and Amari certainly has developed a great talent for writing and producing. However, `Satin Rouge' still looks and smells like a low-budget indi-film, which, despite it's clear entertainment value and obvious potential for future films, the movie is rough around the edges. The range of character profiles is limited, characters don't exhibit any dramatic `risk', and the plot line is moderately predictable, except for the very innovative and apt ending. Yet, the lead up to it was fully predictable, and the time spent getting there was longer than it needed to be. This is called, "bridging", and the idea is to avoid taking the viewer over an obvious path that will lead an inevidible other side. If we all know it's coming, either get there, or explore developments that contribute to the plot or character profiles. In this case, the delivery is "adequate," but not exemplary, a common mistake made by newer filmmakers.The best part of the film is the intimate lens peering into a world and culture that is totally unfamiliar Americans. The depiction of old-world Arab and Western cultures was done so matter-of-factly and unintentional – something that only we Westerners would notice – that I felt a great sense of authenticity that what we were seeing was truly real. This aspect of `Satin Rouge' is not necessarily unique. Most films that come from Iran also illustrate these same features of their society, which would surprise and encourage most Americans as well. To this end, I think it's extremely important for the film industry to encourage and assist in more films from the Middle East region get into our country. We need it.

tonebone the plot of this movie is a bit contrived in certain places: i find it hard to believe that a widow can morph herself into a belly dancer/mrs. robinson type in such a short timespan, especially in conservative tunisia.despite that, i'd have to say this is quite an "aphrodisiac" movie: for you guys out there who are dating "shy" women, or for you guys out there who want to rekindle some passion in your love life, have a go at watching this movie together, and then enjoy each other as the "tiger" within your woman comes out!my thanks to raja amari (a new & promising talent) for a wonderful aphrodisiac.