''The Season of Men'' ( ar, موسم الرجال ,
translit. ''Maussim al-rijal'', french: La saison des hommes) is a 2000 French-Tunisian
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Moufida Tlatli
Moufida Tlatli ( aeb, مفيدة التلاتلي; 4 August 19477 February 2021) was a Tunisian film director, screenwriter, and editor. She is noted for her breakthrough film '' The Silences of the Palace'' in 1994, which won several internatio ...
. It was screened in the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section at the
2000 Cannes Film Festival
The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film '' Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier.
The ...
.
The title of the film, The Season of Men, refers to the one month out of the year that the women's husbands come to the Island of Djerba.
Cast
*
Rabia Ben Abdallah as Aicha (as Rabiaa Ben Abdallah)
*
Sabah Bouzouita as Zeineb
*
Ghalia Benali as Meriem (as Ghalla Ben Ali)
*
Hend Sabri as Emna
*
Ezzedine Gannoun as Said (as Ezzedine Guennoun)
*
Mouna Noureddine
Mouna Noureddine ( ar, منى نور الدين, born Saadia Oueslati, 23 January 1937), is a Tunisian actress.
The pseudonym of Mouna Noureddine was suggested by Mohamed Hedi Remnissi, an artist working in the theater of Bizerte.
Biography
...
as Matriarch
*
Azza Baaziz as Meriem as a child
*
Lilia Falkat as Emna as a child
*
Adel Hergal as Aziz
*
Houyem Rassaa as Zohra
*
Kaouther Bel Haj Ali as Fatma
*
Néjib Belkadhi as Sami
*
Jamal Madani as Younes
*
Sadok Boutouria as Am Ali
*
Zakia Ben Ayed as Regaya
*
Wajiha Jendoubi as Salwa
Plot
An 18-year-old on the island
Djerba
Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 ...
, Aïcha, is married to Said, who works in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
for much of the year. Before she can join him in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, Said asks that she give him a son.
On the island Djerba, Aïcha lives under the rule of her mother-in-law, with a few other wives, while their husbands work elsewhere. Aïcha eventually gives birth to a son and is allowed to move to Tunis with her husband. However, her son Aziz has developmental problems and is likely autistic, which causes Saïd to reject him. Aïcha returns to Djerba, this time with her son Aziz and her two adult daughters. The film uses extended flashbacks between Aïcha and her young daughters living in Djerba prior to the birth of Aziz and then scenes in the present, where Aziz is about eight, just before she moves back to Djerba. The film ends with Aïcha and Aziz working together on the loom, making tapestries that Aïcha sells. The film ends with Aïcha's younger daughter Emna leaving, which Aïcha and Aziz live together in Djerba.
Major characters
* Aïcha: the main character. She is married to Saïd and has a strong will and mind of her own. Though she struggles, she wants the best life for her children.
* Saïd: Aïcha's husband. He works in Tunis and makes Aïcha live in Djerba until she gives him a son.
* Meriem: Aïcha's oldest daughter. When she was a child, a man attempted to rape her on her way home from school. She struggles with nightmares and fear of men, though she has chosen to live a traditional life, with a gentle husband—unlike her sister Emna.
* Emna: Aïcha's younger daughter. She is very much a rebel and by the end of the movie, chooses to leave Djerba, after realizing that the older, married man she is sleeping with isn't going to give her the life she wants.
* Aziz: Aïcha's son, who is likely suffering from some form of autism and has difficulty communicating.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Season of Men, The
2000 films
2000 drama films
2000s Arabic-language films
2000s French-language films
Films directed by Moufida Tlatli
Films produced by Margaret Ménégoz
French drama films
2000 multilingual films
Tunisian multilingual films
French multilingual films
2000s French films