Kiss Me Not on the Eyes (2005)
"Dunia" (original title)

After studying literature at Cairo University, Dunia, 23 years old, wants to become a professional dancer. She attends audition for an oriental dance contest where she recites Arabian ... See full summary »

Director:

Jocelyn Saab

Writer:

Jocelyn Saab

Stars:

Hanan Turk, Mohamed Mounir, Fathy Abdel Wahab

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hanan Turk	...	Dunia
Mohamed Mounir	...	Beshir
Fathy Abdel Wahab	...	Mamdouh
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sawsan Badr	...	Arwa
Khaled El Sawy	...	Hazem
Youssef Ismail	...	Antar
Aida Reyad	...	Inayate

Storyline

After studying literature at Cairo University, Dunia, 23 years old, wants to become a professional dancer. She attends audition for an oriental dance contest where she recites Arabian poetry without any body movement. She explain to the perplexed jury that a woman can't move her body or evoke act of love when society ask women to hide their femininity. She is selected and meet Beshir, an intellectual and activist who will supervise her thesis on ecstasy in Sufi love poetry. Their attraction is mutual. This could be liberation for Dunia but the constraints on women in Egyptian society goes deeper than she suspects.

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Plot Keywords:

love | ecstasy | dance | dancer | university | 

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Taglines:

Kiss me not on the eyes

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Egypt Lebanon France

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

6 September 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Dunia: Kiss me not on my eyes

Company Credits

Production Co:

Catherine Dussart Productions (CDP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 112 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The protagonist's name Dunia means "world" or "worldly life" in Arabic.

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Connections

Referenced in Allemaal film: Tussen kunst en kassa (2007)

User Reviews

Dunia Kiss me Not...On the Eyes

That's the real title, whomever submitted it for IMDb, must have shortened it.

Anyways, Egyptian superstar Hanane Turk stars as sultry Dunia, a young woman who is sexually repressed according to society and this inhibits everything she does. One day she auditions for an oriental dance competition (think the type of Jennifer Beals audition from Flash Dance) and is stopped by the judges because of her lifeless performance. They are captured by her obvious beauty but do not buy her lifeless rendition of Arabian poetry. It is her obstinate rebellious nature that drives them to select them, when she challenges the jury to show her how she is supposed to display love when society forbids her to do so. She catches the eye of Beshir (Mohammed Mounir) who takes her under his wing, hoping to rescue her from a dark secret from the past as well as make her his muse.

The forbidden attraction between them in unmistakable and only deepens as Dunia awakens to the sensuality hidden beneath her traditional values. Turk, a trained dancer in real life is flawless in the dance sequences and she has a body to die for. Her costumes are great as well. By the way, all the magnificent songs in the film are performed by none other than "The voice of Egypt" Mohammed Mounir. Dunia is a force to reckon with as she raises awareness to the trials and tribulations associated with being a woman in Egypt. Walid Aouni plays Dunia's dance teacher, Khaled El Sawi & Youssef Ismail co -star. Controversial but also a must see!