Educational Media Reviews Online

Occasionally, a film manages to hold its audience’s interest with not only a well-developed story, engaging characters and a stirring context, but also with a visually captivating and extremely meaningful art direction. In recent years one film that fits this bill is Jocelyne Saab’s Dunia.

This is a very personal film where all the creative processes began and ended with Saab who not only directed the film but also wrote the script and did the art direction. She provides a canvas for the story by paying meticulous attention to the colors and textures of her backgrounds which act as a kind of Greek chorus in relation to the characters. Her choices constantly echo the thematic issues brought forth in the narrative. She is able to light characters in ways that express their inner feelings; she is able to frame them in ways that acknowledge their emotional state; she is thus able to use the film’s space as a means of expression. Finding oneself so engaged in the visual beauty of a film allows the spectator to become fully involved in the framing of the subject of old vs. new, and the place of women within Middle Eastern society.

Dunia, an art student at the University of Cairo confronts the traditions that oppose her inability to experience pleasure as she aspires to become a professional dancer and poet. Her friendships and quest to learn about art and the body have her ultimately deal with a society which is obsessed with female sexuality while oppressing it.

Very highly recommended.