Marrakech International Film Festival

New Moroccan Biopic Reveals a little known major woman Artist

NEW BIOPIC of Illiterate Naive Artist closes film year out in Morocco CHAÏBIA, La Paysanne des Arts (Chaibia, Peasant of the arts)  DIR. Youssef Britel,  starring Saadia Azagoun. By Alex Deleon, 《Flmfestivals.com》

By Rick-Blaine Deleon,  Casablanca 

Chaibia Talan (Arabic, الشعيبية طلال) 

was born in a small village in 1929, never went to school, was married at 24  and widowed at fifteen.  She raised her only son, Houssine, to become an artist but one day on a sudden impulse began painting herself with his materials. Her naive childlike pictures were recognized by visiting gallery owners who had come to arrange an exposition of Houssein's painting as startling expressions of her own tremendous unschooled native talent. 

She was quickly adopted by the Cobra modern art movement in Paris and her own artistic renown soon eclipsed that of her son. Houssine  was ar first exasperated and alienated by his mother's artistic success, but finally recognized her superior talent and became her staunchest supporter and agent as well.

In ensuing scenes we see illiterate Chaïbia in peasant dress at vernissages of her prolific works in Paris and Rome still wowed by all the foreign acclaim and not quite understanding it.

She is taken more seriously abroad than at home.  In the extended portions of the film spoken in Moroccan Dialect French titles are supplied. One small sequence is in German when her works are acquired  by a German aristocrat from the Goethe Institut. Even when travelling she constantly expresses her pining for her home inMorocco. Through overseas sales of her works she becomes wealthy and moves into a Moroccan mansion, but she never forgets her peasant roots and never learns to read or write ~~ Or speak French as does her son, fluently.

 When some of the frenchified Casablanca  bourgeois make fun of her at a gallery openjng she responds with outrage calling them cultural sellouts. When she dies in Casablanca at age 75 she has become a national icon and international symbol of Moroccan culture.

As for the film itself, it turned out, unfortunately, to be a heavy handed hagiography laden more with telegraphed messages regarding  Moroccan cultural finesse and purity of soul than with convincing dramatization or characters.  It is more like a high school history lesson than the gripping biopic it should have been -- Morocco Fir Beginners.

In the film itself  only veteran Moroccan actress Saadia Azgoune (active on screen since 1995) rises above the flat stick-figure direction of Youssef Britel and the overly messagey screenplay to deliver a touching portrait of the title personality, Chaïbia.   For the role Saadia had to gain fifteen kilos to "get into the skin of Chaïbia, a stout peasant woman. (One thinks of De Niro's dietic dedication as Heavyweight boxer Jake Lamotta in "Raging Bull") -- which speaks volumes for her own personal admiration of the person she would have to portray.

The most important second role, that of her son Houssine, is taken by handsome leading man Mourad Zaoui who was also the leading flag waver in Britel's second feature, "The Green March" (screened at the recent Marrakesh film festival)  and the costar of last year's brilliant festival comedy, "A Spicy Bet" opposite Asmaa Khamlichi.  Maroud looks good as usual and  tries hard in this one, but his role is flaccidly written and stiffly directed. 'E' For effort.

Other top Moroccan actors are steered mechanically through tritely conceived  representations of the historical figures in question.

The Moroccan audience I watched this with was did not seem very moved by the film and a photographer I spoke with afterwards who had known Chaibia personally said it was, as far as cinematic qualities are concerned, a major disappointment in every respect except for Saadia's performance.

While this sincerely intended biopic is far more of a didactic document than a convincing dramatic interpretation I would still recommend it to any western viewers interested in Morocco itself and the interface of this fascinating North African Islamic kingdom with its European neighbors, simply for the insiders view of Moroccan culture and personalty that it affords in passing.

Not to mention that the figure of Primitive artist Chaïbia herself will be a primary discovery for students of twentieth century European Art History. At one key point in the film when Euro critics refer to her art as "naïf" Chaïbia is told that this is meant as a compliment, not as a criticism, and that's what I would call Britel's film -- Naive -- not in the positive sense, however, very useful as a cultural document.

ALex, Hotel Al Walid,

Dar al-BaiDa, Voyageurs

The real Chaïbia at the height if her success, before some of her works