Sabah (2005)

Excellent but underrated film

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A SWEET touching story of cultures clashing but love overcoming the colliding haha.Sure this film isn't really Oscar worthy but it IS a great film to share with someone you love. The story is sweet and I found myself rooting for Sabah in her quest for happiness in her love life. I also kept yelling at her to PLUCK THOSE EYEBROWS!! HAHA. She is lovely woman, but the actress needed to pluck her brows badly. I guess it was for the role, because I've seen other photos of her with nice shaped brows.All in all...the film was endearing and I recommend it to watch!

"Sabah" is a wonder, as not only was it a very enjoyable film but according to IMDb it was filmed in only 20 days! For young filmmakers, it's a great lesson on how to film a movie economically and quickly--and it's a nice film for those romantics out there.Sabah is a 40 year-old Muslim woman. Her family is originally from Syria but they've lived in the Toronto area for many years. But, despite their living in a western culture, Sabah's family is holding firm to their old world customs. Sabah is not happy but she's resigned herself to this existence. However, one day, on a lark, she decides to go swimming--something adult women are not normally allowed to do (unless the pool is 100% segregated--women only). However, this tiny act of defiance turns out to eventually unleash Sabah's repressed feelings. So, when she meets a nice non-believer there and finds she likes him, she is, in essence playing with fire--as her family is bound to be furious. The two begin dating--but Sabah is sure to hide this from everyone--and her boyfriend is, not surprisingly, pretty miserable with this arrangement. What happens next? See this very nice film for yourself and see for yourself! While the film is not without its flaws (the resolution comes about way too simply and perfectly), it's nice viewing--and very nice for couples who want to watch a so-called 'chick flick'. Plus, it addresses some interesting cultural difficulties in the process. Well worth watching.

Sabah, a Syrian Muslim girl living with her family in Canada. Her father is dead, she is taking care of her mother, while her brother, a dominating Muslim male type, takes care of the whole family. She's about 40 years old, single. One day, she meets Stephen, a non-Muslim Canadian, and they start to like each other.Sabah, wears a Hijab. She met Stephen at a swimming pool, the only way where she can escape from her brother and his restriction. As she struggles with her self to take off her hijab, and get into her swimming suite, and enjoy some freedom away from her family's eyes. Stephen was like a bless, to have someone, specially a 'foreigner', to actually like her.Obviously, the clash of civilizations begin.Nobody can deny that this is a complicated issue, and reality is harsh for a big part of Muslim women. Bad use and interpretation of religion, ignorant cultural traditions has it's impact on Muslim and Arabic women till today.In order for a filmmaker to approach and explore such a difficult subject cinematically, the film with all it's components should be hired in an 'artistic' way to be able to convince people of it's case. If the artistic quality is low, it will affect the plot, the judgment, and it will turn into bad propaganda. Roba Nadda clearly had a message to deliver, but it failed miserably, this is bad propaganda.Even for a non-practicing Muslim like me, I find this very. Infusing ridiculous events and scenes to get the viewer's attention is really a cheap way to handle such topic. The prayer and cleavage scene, the over-used oriental dancing scenes, the Muslims don't do this and that (although it is real), and the mother's ridiculous character with her cheap B-movie acting, and not to forget using music to stir up emotions, really (Spoiler coming up) There is a problem, but the film doesn't provide a 'real' solution, they don't approach it from a religious point of view, or even cultural. Through the film's length, all problems are shown, Sabah tells Stephen why she can't do this and that, until the development of the story to a dramatic acceptance, and a cheap ' Happily Ever After' ending. Just to be fair, Arsinée Khanjian acting was good, other than that, this is worthless.

I saw this film at films de femmes International women's film festival at Créteil,a suburb of Paris in France in 2006 where it was the opening film. It pleased most of the viewers especially the French audiences were most impressed.For them it offered a nice opportunity to watch all the melodrama, songs and dances. However there are some serious, glaring defects in this film. First of all the portrayal of the lead character Sabah is so distant,aloof, cold and hardly convincing. Somehow one gets a feeling that she is not able to connect to others around her. This is also true of the actor who played her brother.In real life this chap is Canadian and he was asked to play the role of a Jordanian guy !! This is a gross casting error. How unusual. In "Sabah" the fun elements might please casual viewers but more serious viewers might feel that it is a kind of ruse adopted by the filmmaker in order to hide the scenario's drawbacks. If you have seen films by the master of modern English language Canadian cinema Atom Egoyan, you might be tempted to watch this film. The reason : he is the executive producer of this film.