The "Feathers" - unusual and crazy movie

The movie "Feathers" comes to us from Egypt, and what we will see is completely crazy and unusual. Egyptian Omar El Zohairy, who is making his feature directorial debut, has worked (as an assistant) with some of Egypt's most prominent directors. His first short film "Breathe Out" (2011) received special recognition at the Dubai festival, while "Feathers" won an award at the Cannes festival. However, despite its success at Cannes and the El Gouna festival (best Arab film award), some Egyptian directors and actors were not thrilled with what they saw, and walked out of the film's screening, claiming that Egypt was portrayed in a negative light.

Anyway, "Feathers" is an original movie and tells us a crazy story. An absurdist tragicomedy with which El Zohairy announced himself as a director with something to say. It's all there, from naturalism to crazy fantasy, and El Zohairy brings it all together in one wacky film that's a real revelation.

In the opening scenes, we see a lower-class Egyptian woman doing all the standard household chores. It's not easy for her, because, in addition to constantly cleaning the dirty, dilapidated apartment, which is located near the factory where her husband works, she also has to take care of three children. However, the apartment is lively because the husband, who hides money from the wife in a tin box in the closet, is constantly organizing parties, people gather and barely pay attention to the wife who is constantly cleaning, cooking and preparing, and the key moment will happen during the celebration the fourth birthday of one of their sons.

The party will begin to heat up a little, and as at any real children's birthday, there will be a magician. At one point, the magician will ask the husband to enter a large box to participate in one of the tricks. By some magic, a white hen will appear in the box instead of the tall and thin husband (everyone present is delighted and looks on in wonder), and the real disaster will happen when the magician realizes that he cannot bring the man back. No one knows where the husband has disappeared or what happened to him, and when he realizes that he has made a mess, the magician will quickly sweep out of their apartment.

The film will turn from a social-realist drama into a tragicomedy, i.e. a black comedy. The wife will have to deal with the sudden absence of her husband, and the constant pressure to pay the rent, but the biggest problem she faces and the question she cannot find an answer to is how to treat the chickens. But the hen will soon have a whole room to herself and will be better fed than she and her children, and she will spend all her savings and go into debt to find various witch doctors and shamans who claim they can undo the spell and bring her husband back.

The actors aren't professionals and don't have much to do with the dialogue, but that doesn't mean they aren't good. Moreover, they are excellent. Although she doesn't say much, the face and eyes of the woman we follow (Demyana Nassar's debut role) often say more than words can. From the first scene in the film, we are aware of the fact that this is an unusual story that will take us on an unpredictable journey, and such a thing requires a strong authorial vision. For this, El Zohairy deserves praise, especially since this is his feature film debut.

Without a doubt, this is one of the most unique cinematic adventures. It's not just a story, and they're not just actors. Here, people play roles from real life and from their own lives.

Post by: Rinna James