A comedy/drama set in a village and centered on a battle of the sexes, where women threaten to withhold sexual favors if their men refuse to fetch water from a remote well.
Negligent bin-emptiers in this country may empathise.
Romanian director Mihaileanu's film is a strange beast: a gritty rom-com with a message that sometimes plays like a North African Made In Dagenham, but occasionally dips into much tougher terrain. Topical and worthwhile, it deserves to find an audience - even if you might struggle to catch it in Saudi Arabia.
A film that's by turns funny and shocking, measured and revelatory. A feel-good movie from left field.
Serious moments lack force and lighter moments feel hollow.
We do at least get some sense of real-life rural inequality – the women invariably do manual labour as they scheme against their idle husbands – and there's some enjoyable interplay between a dream cast of Arab actors. But it feels like a wasted opportunity.
The sheer injustice at the heart of an overlong tale still creates an automatic sympathy for the women, sisters in a way to the women in Made In Dagenham.
A whimsical tale of women, water and wedlock, with precious little direction, drive or purpose.
It is strongly cast if overlong. But as a plea for yanking male attitudes out of the Dark Ages it's unarguable.
It's too long and the tone uncertain. But it's painful in a way Aristophanes's Lysistrata isn't.
The mix of female empowerment and Middle eastern colour is kept just on the right side of schmaltzy by firecracker turns from Leïla Bekhti as the headstrong strike-leader and Biyouna as a formidable widower.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Monday July 2, 2012, until Thursday July 5, 2012. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
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