Just like a Woman (2012 film)
| Just Like a Woman | |
|---|---|
Film Poster
|
|
| Written by | Rachid Bouchareb Marion Doussot Joëlle Touma |
| Directed by | Rachid Bouchareb |
| Starring |
Sienna Miller Golshifteh Farahani |
| Country of origin | France United Kingdom United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Tessalit Productions Taghit |
| Distributor | Cohen Media Group |
| Release | |
| Original release |
|
Just Like a Woman is an 2012 English-language film directed by Rachid Bouchareb, starring Sienna Miller and Golshifteh Farahani. The narrative follows an American housewife and a North African woman who travel from Chicago to Santa Fe to participate in a bellydance competition. The film is a co-production between companies in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Bouchareb intends it to be the first in a trilogy about the relation between North America and the Arab world.
The film depicts a few days in the lives of two women, Marilyn (Sienna Miller) and Mona (Golshifteh Farahani) who, on the outside, could not be more different. Marilyn is an American-born menial secretary at a small business. Mona is an Egyptian immigrant who manages the convenience store next door with her mother-in-law (Chafia Boudraa) and her husband, Mourad (Roschdy Zem). During brief encounters, the women find solace in each other from the stress of their daily lives. Marilyn's husband, Harvey (Jesse Bob Harper), is unemployed. Feeling jealous and emasculated, he criticizes her taking part in a belly-dancing class (believing that she is too old) and uses her money to spend his nights drinking at bars. Meanwhile, Mona endures the constant plague of verbal abuse from her mother-in-law who blames her for not conceiving a child. Though in love with his wife, Mourad refuses to stand up to his mother, a disappointment that leaves Mona feeling depressed and alone in their marriage.
One day, Marilyn comes to work and is fired due to the recession. Distraught and angry, she goes home and is disgusted to see Harvey having sex with another woman in their bed. Acting on advice from her dance coach, Marilyn decides to attend an audition for a dance company in Santa Fe and leaves Chicago without telling Harvey. On the same day, Mourad's mother reveals that she has found him a new wife who will bear a child within a year. Distracted by the news, Mona spills her mother-in-law's pillbox and, in her haste to collect the pills, gives her the wrong dosage. The next morning, Mourad finds his mother dead. Horrified by the discovery that she is responsible, Mona flees, intent on leaving the country. Later on, the police question Mourad about her whereabouts. At the same time, Marilyn ignores Harvey's calls and is intent on driving 1,300 miles to Sante Fe. At a rest stop, she sees Mona and assumes that she too has fled her unhappy life at home. She invites her to come along and Mona agrees to be her dance partner for the gigs they will be performing along the way.
...
Wikipedia