Some Like It Veiled aka Cherchez la Femme, written and directed by Sou Abadi - 8.4 out of 10

Some Like It Veiled aka Cherchez la Femme, written and directed by Sou Abadi

8.4 out of 10

Although there may be absolutely no chance that you get to see this one of the multiple channels available, except if you somehow have TV5 among them, this modern, relevant comedy is worth seeing.

Well…maybe that stamen was wrong, for given what fundamentalists are prone to engage into, when they feel their ridiculous egos and exaggerated views are offended, on both extreme sides of the spectrum, from the Trump lunatic supporter to the Muslim ayatollah, this feature should be off limits for them.

Felix Moati is the star of this show and his performance as Armand and then Scheherazade is brilliant, vibrant and effective, for it keeps the film going and the audience amused.

Without taking shots at Islam – well, maybe just occasionally and with a light touch so that the extremists do not feel the rage that caused the abominable acts committed at Charlie Hebdo and elsewhere – the movie does use satire to highlight eccentricities, absurdities that plague the Taliban and others like them.

Leila is the heroine of the motion picture and she is the sister of Mahmoud, the young man who takes the loss of his parents so hard that he looks for refuge within religion…fundamentalist religion.

He is taking the teachings in the Koran literally, probably with the wrong angle – for instance, it is stated that jihad meant something else in the original texts, something like a struggle with oneself, an effort to become better, more generous, worthy and the sense attributed by modern day Horsemen of the Apocalypse are dead wrong when they see it as an invitation to wage war.

Mahmoud becomes ever more extreme in his attitudes, taking the view that he is the absolute master of the house – an angle which seems to be uncontested alas by most Muslim men – and his sister must do what he tells her and in this phase, that means she must abandon pleasures, eventually modern life altogether.

Armand is the son of Iranian immigrants, people who had initially opposed the tyranny of the shah Pahlavi, only to see him replaced by the even more deplorable ayatollah Khomeini, a lunatic who has dragged Iran to the dead end where it is even today, facing another fool, orange Trump.

When the hardened, bearded Islamist finds that his sister is seeing, dating Armand, he is infuriated and pushes the man to the floor, demanding from his sibling extreme obedience and to forget about seeing this representative of the devil – who is always tempting weak people…not with those words.

Armand has a very clever, if dangerous idea and he becomes a sort of transvestite, wearing the chador to hide the fact that he is a man, knocking at the door of the flat where his lover lives and pretending to be a devoted Muslim woman, in search of help from Leila.

The latter is revolted by this appalling dress, for this is France, a free democratic country where women do not have to obey their foolish, sexist, ridiculous abusive husbands, bothers and other relatives, on the contrary, laws prevent the wearing of the niqab and other religious outfits in schools or institutions and the face must not be hidden by the all covering clothes.

However, Mahmoud is very attracted by this very religious female, who seems to share his exaggerated views, for when asked about her voice, she states that she is actually hiding it, for every respectful Muslim woman has to keep away from men, hide her looks and avoid tempting the ‘Muslim brothers’.

To be able to know about religion, Armand borrows from the library a series of books, which, when discovered by his mother would cause great chagrin and distress, for the poor parent thinks that her son is becoming an Islamist, whereas he just tries to find a way to see his lover.

The satire and educational message of the film is extraordinary, for the extremist who would torture gay people, becomes infatuated with…a man, albeit unconsciously, for he thinks he has found the perfect woman, modest, covered from head to toe, instructed in the sayings of the Koran…the woman to marry.

There are many amusing, tense moments, when the fundamentalist uses an ax to break the door of his sister’s room, where Armand is hiding, the friends chase the poor disguised lover through the streets, the faceoff between the family of Scheherazade and the suitor.

That dialogue is superb, for the family of the ‘girl’ are Muslim, but of the Shia conviction, which is specific for a minority, but the state dogma in Iran, while Mahmoud and his gang are Sunni…by the way, this has been the cause of bloodshed and the main reason why Saudi Arabia and its allies are in a cold war conflict with theocratic Iran and its proxies in Yemen and elsewhere.

Love conquers all!

Mahmoud is willing to do anything the alleged father of the ‘woman’ he loves is asking of him, including a change of doctrine, from his Sunni to the Shia interpretation and even declares his allegiance to Ali or whatever descendant of the prophet that the would be father in law demands.

When he is asked to bring in one hundred camels, he is at frits overcome by the impossible task, but then, when they say that they may be imported from Argentina, he agrees.