Hideous Kinky (1999)

I love this movie so much

You won't be disappointed!

A lot of fun.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's 1972 Marrakesh. Julia (Kate Winslet) moves from London to Morocco with his young daughters Bea and Lucy. The girls' father has another woman in London. They struggle waiting for the father's check to come in. Julia falls for acrobat street performer Bilal (Saïd Taghmaoui). She goes to study in Algiers with Sufi mystic Ben Said.There is a meandering pointlessness about this movie. It doesn't have enough exotic style. The movie doesn't tap into a child's wonder. It doesn't have tension of surviving in a foreign land. Kate Winslet looks downbeat which somewhat fits her character. She may want to be someone looking for spirituality but she strikes as someone self-obsessed running away from her troubled home. She's more about her love life than taking care of her children.

Well, I felt the first trauma at screen for "Wadja", then it reappears with "Baby Call", then "Daisy Diamond" and now with this movie. Thus, my panic button isn't bloody monsters, slashers or creatures but only a single mum with her kid. As i met this situation in real, maybe that's the explanation.As this movie shows, in such a family, the mother is so obsessed that even if she loves truly her kid, she doesn't see him also. At the end, due to his erratic mother, kid being kid, he is put in danger and it's very painful to share this moments.Here, it's indeed the case: Kate is in search of meaning, of truth and she thinks that the answer lies with Sufism. So it's a trip from England to Morocco with her two daughters and as money is the blood and fuel that makes the world spins, without any, life becomes difficult. In a way, it has the same flavors that Coelho's novel "the Alchimist", mixing desert, spirituality...At first, the movie is a bit annoying as nothing really happens. But, surely, the movie gains intensity as the family takes trips, meet friends and the magical exoticism of Morocco comes inside you: As i went there once, there's truly a wonderful light and you can see it shining here. But you'll notice also that this country has one of the most colored cultures in the world and that it's also a very inegalitarian one as the gap between poor and riches is huge.Still very young for this movie and a mother to be, Kate is however very maternal and really cares for her daughters: she never shouts at them even as they talk straight. But it's her daughters that steal the spotlight: they are funny, intelligent, and ready to grasp the world. The bond between her is great as they could pass for real sisters.At the end, it's not a surprise that this movie is dates from 1998: today, I don't think that a self-discovery journey of a western family into the Arabic world would be produced so that's another reason to not miss this one.

'Hideous Kinky' initially gives the impression of being a movie about a woman's adventurous and spiritual journey when it is actually about her journey to self-discovery. MacKinnon captures the landscape of Marrakech beautifully. The wild exotic culture looks authentic. The cinematography and music blend superbly with the overall mood of the film. The director makes the viewer feel like a silent observer and travelling companion of Julia and her children. I loved how her relationship with Bilal was portrayed as a beautiful friendship based on love, compassion, kindness and in the end, sacrifice. Kate Winslet does a phenomenal job once again. Said Taghmaoui does an equally convincing job but unfortunately, he still remains an underrated actor typecast in terrorist roles. It's a pity that Hollywood does not offer this actor much else to do. Child actors Bella Riza and Carrie Mullan deliver some of the better performances by child actors. 'Hideous Kinky' is an adventurous movie in the true sense of the genre. It's not an 'Indiana Jones' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' type experience but rather something more layered, subtle and profound. Think of a kinky summer holiday about self examination somewhere exotic and less known.

This is simply a beautiful film, breathtakingly shot, with wonderful acting especially so by Carrie Mullan. Of the two girls who play the daughters of Kate Winslet, she rightly so has the (even if only slightly so) bigger acting part. Refreshingly free of a rigorous story line, you can just enjoy the atmosphere and exquisite photography. And, of course the actors. Winslet is her usual self, solid acting, and she's apparently not afraid to show herself in a less than perfect physical appearance, against the Standard-Issued-Hollywood-Bodies culture. A leeettle chubby, she's the perfect reflection of Greek sculpture. Mullan's mimic is very grown-up, Riza is good, though at times her inexperience shines through and Taghmaoui is quite sympathetic. The nudity in this film should not be considered daring in this day and age, and is thus true to the film's era. The makers obviously thought something like: 'Shove it, if this arouses or excites you, there's something very wrong with you' and i salute them for it.8/10 The Melancholic Alcoholic.