Asfour Stah (1990)

Director:

Férid Boughedir

Writers:

Férid Boughedir
Nouri Bouzid
(more)

Release Date:

1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

A coming-of-age comedy/drama set in Tunisia. Twelve-year-old Noura is an impressionable boy who must learn to reconcile two conflicting worlds...

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Sexuality | Women | Tunisia | Trousseau

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Selim Boughedir	...	Noura
Mustapha Adouani	...	Si Azzouz
Rabia Ben Abdallah	...	La Jamila
Mohammed Driss	...	Salih
Hélène Catzaras	...	Latifa
Fatima Ben Saïdane	...	Salouha
Abdelhamid Gayess	...	Cheick Mohktar
Jamel Sassi	...	Moncef
Radhouane Meddeb	...	Mounir
Carolyn Chelby	...	Leila
Zahira Ben Ammar	...	La matrone
Fethi Haddaoui	...	Khemais
Aissa Harrath	...	Ali
Taoufik Chabchoub	...	Colombo
Siah Msadek	...	Le boucher et l'ogre
Jamila Ourabi	...	Proprietaire du hammam
Aziza Boulabiar	...	Zekhia
Salem Ben Hassine	...	Le clochard
Mustapha Koudai	...	Hamadi Karama
Amouche Setbon	...	La Belle Aicha (as Anouche Setbon)
Marianne Catzaras	...	Fatma
Walid Bahri	...	Samir
Hamadi Ben Saad	...	Client du coiffeur
Férid Boughedir	...	Client du coiffeur
Mounir El Ghrairi	...	Milicien
Mahmoud Abderrazak	...	Milicien
Mohsen Bouselmi	...	Un ouvrier
Leila Ouertani	...	Fille draguee
Samia Meddeb	...	Fille draguee
Leila Dakhli	...	Fille draguee
Souha Ben Mlouka	...	Cliente boutique pere
Latifa Gharbi	...	Cliente boutique pere
Raja Ben Ammar	...	Cliente de Salih
Kamel Touati	...	Le coiffeur
Taoufik Jebali	...	Client du coiffeur
Raouf Ben Amor	...	Client du coiffeur

Directed by
Férid Boughedir

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Férid Boughedir
Nouri Bouzid
Taoufik Jebali		dialogue
Maryse León García

Produced by
Ahmed Baha Attia	....	producer
Sylvain Bursztejn	....	producer
Hassen Daldoul	....	producer
Eliane Stutterheim	....	producer

Original Music by
Anouar Brahem

Cinematography by
Georges Barsky

Film Editing by
Marie-Christine Rougerie
Moufida Tlatli

Production Design by
Taieb Jallouli

Set Decoration by
Taieb Jallouli		(chief decorator)

Costume Design by
Naama Jazi

Makeup Department
Zeineb Ayachi	....	assistant makeup artist
Essia Baaziz	....	hair stylist
Fatma Jaziri	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Abdessafar Ben Youssef	....	unit manager
Vincent Coudanne	....	unit manager
Touhami Kochbati	....	unit manager
Ali Mansouri	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mounir Baaziz	....	assistant director
Marie-Françoise Bonin	....	assistant director
Moez Kamoun	....	assistant director
Moslah Kraiem	....	assistant director

Art Department
Rachid El Basti	....	constructor
Raouf Jerbi	....	props
Naceur Kaabi	....	painter

Sound Department
Henri Humbert	....	sound effects (as Henry Humbert)
Hachim Joulak	....	sound
Riadh Thabet	....	boom operator
Gérard Tilly	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Achour Abdelmajid	....	assistant electrician
Anouar Ben Aissa	....	still photographer
Nourredine Ben Aoun	....	assistant camera
Jellal Ben Barka	....	assistant electrician
Taoufik Bourgain	....	assistant camera
Skander Dhaoui	....	assistant electrician
Catherine Kalmar	....	assistant camera
Ali Naili	....	electrician
Salah Rezgui	....	assistant electrician

Casting Department
Marianne Catzaras	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Claude Bennys	....	stylist
Najer Soltani	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Ridah Dridi	....	assistant editor
Karim Hammouda	....	assistant editor
Maguelone Pouget	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Paul Bouchara	....	musician
François Couturier	....	musician
Bechir Selmi	....	musician
Taoufih Zgonda	....	musician

Other crew
Abdallah Baaloch	....	production administrator
Hatchem Ben Ammar	....	press attache
Hayer Ben Henin	....	production secretary
François Bert	....	machinist
Claude d'Anna	....	technical advisor
Serge Debillot	....	production administrator
Rita Dhaoui	....	production secretary
Mondher El Gaied	....	assistant machinist
Chauffy Heddaoui	....	assistant machinist
Neji Khedri	....	assistant machinist
Anne Mirman	....	script girl (as Anne Mirmam)
Nourredine Oueslah	....	accessories
Yeef Stalnikiewicz	....	production secretary
Hassen Tebbi	....	assistant machinist
Moncel Zdouri	....	color calibrator

Production Companies

• Cinétéléfilms
• France Média
• Les Films du Scarabée

Distributors

• International Film Circuit (1990) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Nachshon Films (1991) (Israel) (all media)
• Gaumont Home Vidéo (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Amorces Diffusion (1990) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Tunisia | France | Italy

Language:

Arabic

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Halfaouine, Tunis, Tunisia

Company:

Cinétéléfilms

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: Episode #8.4" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Le Moineau des terrasses

Surprisingly similar to American sex comedies...

"Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces" (1990, Ferid Boughedir)

Apparently puberty's the same for everybody, everywhere.

Transcending time and place, date and setting, the film is a coming-of-age tale far from the thematically similar Tunisian entry "The Silences of the Palace", which depicting in scorching detail the plight of the woman in this society and her expectory burden of rape and sexual favors, "Halfaouine" depicts male-female Tunisian relations as much like our own American, with a lot of strong and knowing females and the lascivious lunkhead sweethearts who love them. Into this world is twelve-year-old Noura, endeavoring on a quest to understand the world of women, how to be a man, relationships, and above all, to see boobs.

Now, this is not the demented and disgusting brilliance of something like "Leolo", and it's not any outrageous or controversial endeavor on the level of "Maladolescenza" or "Murmur of the Heart", but its intent is to be breezy entertaining, not to get people talking about it in shocked whispers to their friends. The film has a solid grasp for both a good punchline (for instance, when a womanizer gives a young boy advice on how to get with women, the film cuts directly to the boy getting punished for harassing local girls) and a good visual joke (as when a street argument is cooled as the participants find a common bond: ogling a woman as she saunters away), functioning as little more than mindless entertainment.

It fails to be overly notable outside of surprising me how comfortable Tunisia is with nudity, as the film is filled to the brim with it. Lead actor Selim Boughedir is not only sort of dumb-looking, but also only seems to have two facial expressions: A blank slate and a sheepish grin. The rest of the characters are ill-defined, and most of the women, with the except his town-temptress aunt, are more notable for their bodies than their lives, which, it could be argued, is somewhat appropriate, considering the movie's title character is a horny, inexperienced twelve-year-old.

In the end, it's a harmless bit a fluff, a sex comedy with broad characters and a surplus of nudity, and more than anything else, I think it's nice to know that no matter where you're from, be it the suburbs of Michigan, the neighborhoods of Paris or the streets of Tunisia, every boy around the world just wants to get a little action.

{Grade: 7.5/10 (B-) / #15 (of 24) of 1990}