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The Silences Of The Palace (1994)
Rank: 4th
THE SILENCES OF THE PALACE (1994)
“The film may be a painstaking reflection on silence and the structures that sustain it—from colonialism to the hierarchies of gender and class—but music is its central lifeline. For the servants, who sing folkloric ballads to ease the burden of their conditions, it is a distraction. For the beys, who host lavish soirées where live musicians perform but forbid patriotic songs in the palace, it is an assertion of power. For Alia, who listens to Umm Kulthum in adoration and practices her songs in private, it is a release.”
— Read the full essay by Yasmine Zohdi, as part of Cinemayaat’s The 100 Greatest Arab Films of All Time Issue
Country of Origin: Tunisia
Run Time: 1h 56m
Language: Arabic
Genre(s): Drama
Synopsis
Alia, 25, is fed up with singing at weddings.
After the humiliation of an umpteenth contract as a professional singer she expresses her disappointment with her life and her unspoken resentment for the fact that Lotfi, who has lived with her for ten years, has never wanted to marry her and refuses to recognize the child she is carrying. The announcement of the death of Prince Sid Ali, a former bey, suddenly plunges her back into the past.
After the humiliation of an umpteenth contract as a professional singer she expresses her disappointment with her life and her unspoken resentment for the fact that Lotfi, who has lived with her for ten years, has never wanted to marry her and refuses to recognize the child she is carrying. The announcement of the death of Prince Sid Ali, a former bey, suddenly plunges her back into the past.
Cinemayaat’s Teaser
Notable Cast and Crew
Moufida Tlatli
Director
Hind Sabri
Cast (Alia)
Ghalya Lacroix
Cast (Alia)
Nejia Ouerghi
Cast (Khalti Hadda)
Kamel Fazaa
Sid' Ali • Prince
Sabah Bouzouita
Cast (Schema • Serrvant)
Essay From The 100 Greatest Arab Films of All time Issue
The Silences of the Palace: The Unraveling of Girlhood in a World of Uninnocence
The film may be a painstaking reflection on silence and the structures that sustain it—from colonialism to the hierarchies of gender and class—but music is its central lifeline. For the servants, who sing folkloric ballads to ease the burden of their conditions, it is a distraction. For the beys, who host lavish soirées where live musicians perform but forbid patriotic songs in the palace, it is an assertion of power.
By Yasmine Zohdi
