Libmonster ID: UK-1391
Author(s) of the publication: A. S. SHAKHOV

A. S. SHAKHOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences

Scientific Research Institute of Cinematography (VGIK)

Keywords: Syria, cinema, Abdul Latif Abdul Hamid

The work of the Syrian film director, screenwriter and actor Abdul Latif Abdul Hamid is of great interest not only in the home country of the cinematographer, but also abroad. The films of the graduate of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), which have been awarded prestigious awards at international film festivals, are distinguished by a multi-faceted and truthful depiction of the problems of national reality, as well as a deep understanding of the characters of film characters. It is in the combination of life's truth and a heartfelt disclosure of the thoughts and actions of screen characters that the key feature of the work of one of the most gifted and authoritative modern masters of film art in Syria lies. The director's film productions that have achieved audience sympathies are described in the article offered to the readers ' attention.

Abdul Latif Abdul Hamid made the first test student short films "Good Night", "Old Lesson" and "Topsy-turvy" while still a student of the directing department of VGIK (workshop of People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Nikolaevich Ozerov). After graduating in 1981, he returned to his homeland and joined the General Organization of Syrian Cinema. Like other young colleagues in the film department, he started his career by producing short documentaries.

A significant moment in the creative biography of Abdul Latif was 1983, when he acted as an assistant to the Syrian director Mohammed Malas-also a graduate of VGIK - on the feature film "City Dreams", which a year later, in 1984, was awarded the main prize" Golden Tanita " at the Carthage International Film Festival 1. In order to enrich his professional skills and become more confident in screen art, in 1988 Abdul Hamid tried his hand at the role of a film actor, starring in the feature film "Day Stars" by another Syrian director Osama Mohammed.

Having gained professional experience, A. Hamid received the right to make his debut independent film production "Nights of the Jackal" (1989). Created according to the author's script, the film immediately received positive reviews from viewers and film experts and became a significant event in the cultural life of Syria.

In the center of the story is a dramatic but instructive story of the head of the family, an elderly village worker who devoted his life to farming and working on his own farm. Symbolically, the author uses the image of jackals who resort to the farm every night. The main character's wife uses a high-frequency whistle to scare away and stop their wild roar. But with the onset of morning, dangers are already waiting in the house. The head of the family, being a man of a tough disposition and adhering to the patriarchal traditions of the past, in family life thinks of himself as an indisputable authority and the sole arbiter of the fate of his own children. He confirms his dominance over family members by incessant and often unfair rude shouts, sometimes resorting to physical violence. To the innermost desires, thoughts and aspirations of the "downtrodden" household, he does not care.

As the author of the film emphasizes, it is impossible to build good relations with the household, maintain authority and respect only on voluntarism and degrading violence. So, the hero of the film loses his loved ones day after day. Unable to withstand the daily tyranny, the eldest son, under the far-fetched pretext of getting an education, leaves his parents ' home for the city and there, very soon losing his life's landmarks, becomes a semi-impoverished and useless marginal. The middle son, in protest against the unbearable and disgusting domestic tyranny, in search of a better life, "treacherously" moves to live with a kind-hearted and hospitable neighbor. And the youngest, with whom the parent who found himself "at the broken trough" after the death of his wife dreamed of calmly and happily spending the approaching old age, is not particularly interested in anything and does not build special plans for the future...

The ideological and moral message of the film is clear and diverse-

page 75

It is planned to convey the personal drama of a simple villager, a father whose life example was not needed by his sons, and to call for a critical rethinking of not only the vicious system of intra-family relations, but also the existing life stereotypes, the attitude of a person to himself.

The rolling success of the film was greatly promoted by the performance of the outstanding actor of the Syrian theater and cinema Asaad Fedd, who managed to vividly, reliably and convincingly convey the complex and contradictory character of the main character.

Wide international recognition was brought to A. Hamid by the memorable lyrical film" Oral Messages "(1991)," colored " with light humor. The plot is based on the story of a long-nosed, "too late in the grooms", a kind, but at the same time awkward village guy who fell head over heels in love with a young beautiful fellow villager. She doesn't pay any attention to him. Seeking mutual feelings, the poor man begins to write sentimental poems to the charming creature. At the same time, he begs to verbally convey them to the addressee of a cute and attractive peer of the girl, who is actually his secret rival. Not knowing the truth about the real author of the beautiful love confessions, she naively thinks that the delightful elegies read to her belong to the "postman". Because of the vigilant and strict parent, who cares about the honor of the family and does not take his eyes off his daughter, the young couple's frequent "poetry evenings" usually end in noisy "showdowns" and tragicomic adventures.

Time passes. The "postman" - the heroine's lover-is drafted into the army. A few years later, when the matured soldier returns to his native village, he is surprised to see a funny, long - nosed boy running through the vegetable beds in the field, exactly like his old friend-the same secret poet and admirer who once tearfully begged him to send love messages to a young girl, and not just a child. now - the mother of a child, still desired and surprisingly beautiful, but already lost to the soldier forever...

Filled with subtle lyricism, tactfully, with light irony, and comprehensively revealing the moral and psychological qualities of its film characters, the film "Oral Messages" in 1991 was warmly received at the Tashkent Film Festival of Asian, African and Latin American countries, and then, in 1992, was awarded the honorary "Bronze Prize" of the International Film Festival of Mediterranean Countries in Moscow. Valencia (Spain) 2.

The attempt to look from a special angle at the eternal ethical issues of the relationship between men and women found an original embodiment in the dramatic and exciting film "Out of the zone of access" (2007). Its main character, Amer, loses his old friend Zuheir, who received a ten-year prison sentence for a certain serious crime. Driven by good intentions, who manages to work simultaneously as a pastry chef, taxi driver and even an Arabic language teacher, he undertakes to take care of the convict's wife and young daughter who are left without support. After a while, the married Amer has a sensual attraction to the" straw widow". The woman responds to him in return, and a romantic relationship is formed between them, which they carefully hide from others. The director shows their love affair without vulgar and rude scenes, as a matter of course. The audience's confidence in what is happening is ensured by the high professionalism of the director and the performing skills of the film actors.

Both heroes commit treachery: Amer is unfaithful to an honest and faithful wife, and his mistress is unfaithful to her husband Zuheir, who is languishing in captivity. Amer is well aware that there will come a time when an ignorant friend who is "out of the access zone" will finally be released. And the logical saving choice, in the end, will be made. Having wisely weighed all the pros and cons, Amer and his girlfriend-lover still defeat the" Satan-tempter "in themselves. Not wanting to test further fate, they peacefully and by mutual consent part, deciding, thereby, to save their families...

* * *

The work of Abdul Latif Abdul Hamid impresses with a sincere desire to honestly and directly talk about the realities of life in their true reflection, about the peculiarities of national life, to reveal the private, purely personal, making it close and understandable to the audience both in Syria and abroad.


1 Klasikiyat al-sinima al-arabiyya (Classics of Arab cinema) / / Al-majala al-arabiyya, 27.02.2011 - http://www.arabic-magazine.com/arabic/ArticleDetails.aspx?id= 1044

2 National Film Organization (Syria) -http://www.cinemasy.com/director.php?id=51


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