'Women's Ruses' impresses

'WOMEN'S RUSES,' a film by Farida Benlyazid was screened on Tuesday night at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi.

The movie is part of a special Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) programme of showcasing Arab women directors.

Other films in this programme include 'After the Last Sky' by Alia Arasoughly (Palestine), 'Dance on Fire' by Selma Baccar (Tunisia), 'Dreamy Visions' by Waha Al Raheb (Syria), 'Going for a Ride', by Nahed Awwad (Palestine) and 'Layla', the Bedouin by Bahega Hafez (Egypt).

'Women's Ruses' is based on an Andalusian folktale, which tells the story of Lalla Aicha, a beautiful and clever merchant's daughter (Samira Akariou), who falls in love with the sun of the sultan (Rachid El Ouali). They are neighbours and often talk and tease each other through their back gardens' fence.

Although the Sultan's son is captivated by Lalla Aicha, he doesn't believe that women are as intelligent as men, so they keep playing tricks on each other. One night, she attempts to prove him wrong by sneaking into his home in disguise and shaving off his beard while he is sleeping.

In response, he decides to teach her a lesson, so he locks her in his cellar for three years. In this battle of the sexes, Lalla Aicha finally finds a way to outwit him. The 90-minute story, which started in full colour in modern day Morocco, was told through a storyteller and shot in black and white. The tale was kept simple but engaging, which made the whole film quite entertaining.

Farida Benlyazid, the Moroccan director, came to the Cultural foundation cinema to specially introduce her movie. "This was my second feature film and the story is similar to one of famous Andalusian poet, Garcia Lorca", revealed Benlyazid.

Born in 1948 in Morocco, Benlyazid studied film and literature at the University of Paris, where she graduated in 1974. She has written and directed several films, including Bab Sama Maftouh (Heaven's Gate is Open) (1988) and Femmes Du Sahel (The Women of Sahel) (1994). 'Women's Ruses' was also screened at Cannes Film Festival in 1999, the year the film was produced.