Rita… Margarita (name) is the title of Omar Abdul Aziz’s newest movie. The film depicts the story of Egyptians who marry foreigners.
According to ‘Al Masa’a’ newspaper, the stars of this innovative theme include Hisham Sleem, Izzat El Aleily, Faraj, Zizi Al Badrawi, Anji Sharaf and Ala Mursi.
The movie took seven weeks to finish and set the producer back 2 million Egyptian pounds.
According to Aziz, “the theme of this film is completely different from the movie Al Hub Fi Taba (Love in Taba), which talks about three Egyptian men who are infected with AIDS.”
“This movie, talks about the civil marriages between Egyptians and foreigners,” explained Aziz, adding, “the idea was derived from my visit to Ghardaqa (where the movie is set) and the Red Sea Resort of Sharm El Sheikh, where I met various young men who had married foreigners in that manner. Those young men had a lot of sad and dramatic stories to tell.”
The movie starts with a young American girl, Rita, who owns a scuba diving center in one of Ghardaqa’s many hotels. Rita, who lives with her American mother, played by Layla Sheir, meets an Egyptian fisherman, Sleem, who she immediately falls in love with. The feeling is reciprocated and the two young lovers get married despite their parent’s disapproval.
The parents explain to their children that the cultural and traditional differences will definitely lead to a failed marriage.
The couple soon discover that their parents were right and as many couples do, they try to get rid of the problem by bringing a child into the world.
Consequently, the problems get bigger until one day, Rita surprises her husband by kidnapping her child and running to the US, leaving her husband a heartbroken and miserable man.
Hisham Sleem, who plays the husband, expressed his admiration for the role saying “despite the fact that the movie is comedic and the events just come up one after the other, the movie holds a deeper meaning. It holds a message to young Egyptians, telling them to beware of marrying foreign woman, because such a marriage is destined to fail.”
As for Farah, who plays Rita, she said “after I did the movie Ard El Khawf> (Land of Fear), I got various offers to act but I refused them all because they would not enrich me. However, with this movie, I think I am presenting a new role, which will make my career stronger” – Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)