Category Archives: Cinema

Cinema, Finance, GCC, History, New York, Waldorf Astoria

From Beijing and the Gulf to Manhattan and Paris and Rocky Mountains: Look Who is Coming………

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Agence France-Presse and other agencies reported this morning that Hilton Hotels is selling sells the Waldorf Astoria to a Chinese firm for $1.95 bn. It took a (proverbial? cliche?) few seconds to register, but the Waldorf? I mean you can’t get any more historical American than John Jacob Astor and the mountain men and the Fur Trade. Who would have thunk only a few years ago that the venerable (that is what they call them now) Manhattan institution will be sold to a bunch of Chinese oligarchs and People’s Liberation Army functionaries.

Then only a couple of years ago reports came out of some Saudi prince buying the Le Crillon in Paris. I had stayed there once for three days, and of course I did not pay for it: it was a paid official business trip, otherwise I could not have afforded it. Then the Qataris have been buying other Paris properties even before they were admitted into the Francophone countries (about two or three Qataris probably speak French but money makes up for any deficiency).

Not to be outdone, the Emirati (UAE) potentates have been buying British sports clubs and any horses and mules and stables that are for sale across England. Come to think of it, Abu Dhabi has been buying almost anything else that is English and for sale (be it nailed or not). Even the upstart robber shaikhs of Bahrain have been known to use their ill-gotten loot to dabble in British properties.

All this is against the trend in the past couple of decades. Even the Mafia’s hold on Las Vegas gambling has faded in recent years, or so the reports say. At least since Francis Ford Coppola wisely gave up on a fourth sequel of the Corleone saga (the third one stank to Sicily and back).

Speaking of oligarchies and potentates and globalization. How come the Russians and their fabled petroleum and gas oligarchs have not been snapping up Western hotels and sports clubs and horses and department stores? Could it be that they knew ‘the sanctions’ were coming?

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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Caliphate, Cinema, Iraq, Syria, Terrorism, Wahhabi

The Hollywood Caliphate of ISIS: Illusions of Sectarian Harmony in Iraq……..

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Masked terrorists attacked and killed worshipers in a (Sunni) mosque in Iraq last week. This reminded people of the brief but ugly sectarian civil war in 2006-08. The sectarian war that has resumed now with the mass killings of many non-Wahhabis by the terrorists of ISIS in Al-Anbar and other provinces. Even the Mubarak-appointed shaikh of Al-Azhar in Cairo, who did not bat an eyelash when ISIS were killing so many others, protested this “sectarian” attack.

My own guess is that the attack probably was not “sectarian” but that it was intended to provoke more sectarian hatred. That the perpetrators were almost certainly not “Shi’a” militias, but Wahhabi Salafis seeking to further muddy the waters. The rule of thumb in these terror incidents is to look for whoever benefits from them politically, and that should be obvious in this case.

The same arguments that were so publicized to explain the political and security troubles in Iraq in recent years will be used again after Haider Al-Abadi forms his government. If he is allowed to form his government. In fact the “sectarian” argument will be used again by former Baathists and their foreign Arab backers before he forms his government; I’d say starting next week. Ultra sectarians using the “sectarian” argument against others. Western governments frustrated with the whole Arab sectarian war will grasp this argument as the cause and root of all their troubles in Iraq. They will press Al Abadi to compromise by handing over ‘meaningful’ portfolios to the former Baathists. He, like Al Maliki, like any other Iraqi leader with the same sense and the same insecurities, will refuse to hand over the Defense or Security portfolios to former Baathists. Back to square one.

The root cause of Iraq’s current troubles is two-folded. It is a combination of domestic sectarian mistrust and foreign Arab meddling. The domestic Iraqi issue may take care of itself if outsiders would stop meddling and feeding the sectarian insecurities. Some of the Arab neighbors of Iraq, the Saudi princes and and Qatari and Emirati potentates who financed Wahhabi terrorism in Iraq long before they opened the Syrian front, have not accepted the regime change that was brought by the Western invasion of 2003. Their intolerant ideology, money, and volunteers are what gave birth to ISIS and its absurd Hollywood-style Caliphate.

Cheer

Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

Arab Politics, Arab Revolutions, Cinema, Culture, GCC, Jihadis, Jihadists, Uncategorized

Cinematic Political History of the Middle East………

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Some film titles and what they might mean in the Middle East:

American Dream: peace in the Middle East

The King and I: Al Sisi after his visit to the  Saudi king on his plane.

The Hustler: Netanyahu visits with Obama.

The Count of Monte Cristo: Morsi dreaming of escape from his military prison at Chateau d’If.

Slumdog Millionaire: the nightly dream of every South Asian laborer working on Qatar’s World Cup projects.

Dangerous Liaisons: arming the Syrian opposition militias.

Return of the Mummy: Hosni Mubarak visits Al Sisi at Qubba Palace.

The 300: Iranian embassy in Baghdad.

The 3000: Iranian embassy in Damascus.

The 30,000: political prisoners in Egypt.

Lonely are the Brave: Iranian embassy in Riyadh

Lonely are the Brave: Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Ali Baba and the Forty-plus Thieves: a history of Bahrain (or some other Gulf country).

King Lear: Prince Bandar wandering between projects destabilizing Syria and Iraq and Lebanon.

The Sheik: anyone who has any influence in the UAE.

The Wild Bunch: ISIS, ISIL, Al Nusra,  Al WTF

All That Money Can Buy: Saudi foreign policy

The Prince and the Paupers: Saudi Prince (any prince) walking down certain Riyadh streets he usually avoids, runs into people he usually does not see.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: take your pick……..

The Idiot: no comment.


Cheers

Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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Cinema, Culture, Israel, Jews

Was Superman Jewish? Is Superman Jewish? About the Socialist Haganah…….

      

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“Superman, the invention of two U.S. Jews, is a profoundly Jewish character whose film history is entwined with that of American Jewry…………It’s hard to imagine anyone less Jewish — or more goyish — than Superman. One could point to his white-bread name, his Midwestern origins, his hypermasculine physique, his feats of strength and his overall Man of Steel status. Yet Superman was the creation of two American Jews, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who envisioned him as a conceptually Jewish character……………….”

I am not sure about this. When Superman first landed on Earth and was adopted by a Christian family in the flyover rural Midwest, even Jews would not have identified any Jewishness in his character. He was so physical and apolitical, he was not even a socialist.
Anyway, now the Muftis and shaikhs (Shaikh Al, Shaikh Qaradawi, et al) will have another beef with the Man of Steel, even if he is now claimed to be kosher and halal. One thing in his favor with the shaikhs: he never joined a kibbutz and the Haganah in Palestine. As far as we know; but Hollywood is not done with Superman, never will be.

Cheers
mhg

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Cinema, Iran

Iran Suing Hollywood: Carlos the Jackal, the Ayatollah Speech………

         

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“Organisers of the Hoax of Hollywood conference in Tehran said they had recruited, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, who has also acted for the Venezuelan-born terrorist, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, to file a legal complaint against the film’s producers and financial backers for “spreading fear of Iran”. “Argo is made by three film-producing companies in Hollywood [and] the Islamic Republic of Iran is going to sue all those who have been active in the anti-Iran domain, including directors and producers,” said the conference’s general secretary, Mohammad Lesani, according to the news agency Mehr. “Isabelle Coutant-Peyre is among the few international lawyers who accept cases which are somehow anti-Zionist.” He said several meetings had been held with Ms Coutant-Peyre and that a portion of her legal fee had already been paid in advance. Ms Coutant-Peyre told the conference in Tehran’s Palestine Cinema, that she had accepted the case “for the sake of defending Iran”………………”

The Iranians are becoming annoying about this Argo business. Even I am getting annoyed by them. I usually tend to give the Iranians the benefit of the doubt in my posts (mainly because they are the underdog, facing the might of the whole Western world and its institutions). They must have other more weighty issues to worry about, like the economy and free elections and freedom of expression, than a crusade against a film. Cinema is supposed to be entertaining, hence it is supposed to rely on fictional depictions of life and history. Just get real: who would pay for a ticket in order to watch some Ayatollah make a speech for two hours?
There is no way any sane judge anywhere outside the Muslim world would rule for them, nor would I. (I suspect that our Muslim judges are not always sane). It is a waste of time, and there are no principles involved. Just give it up, will you?

Cheers
mhg

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Cinema, Culture, Iran, Islam

Controversial Film about the Prophet in Iran, Clerics in Mecca Pissed…….

         

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Iranians seem to have a knack for producing controversial historical films about ancient Prophets, with actors depicting these ancient worthies. Naturally any historical film in the Middle East, especially about the Prophets of Islam and Christianity and Judaism, is controversial. The Ten Commandments is still banned in all Arab states, but then so is Sodom and Gomorrah and Ben Hur; even Lawrence of Arabia is banned although I never knew T.E. to be a prophet. The last one was about Joseph (son of Jacob, not the carpenter), which had Salafis attack some television studios in North Africa for showing it. Among many Muslims, well among some of us Muslims, such depiction is considered blasphemous.
Among Wahhabi Salafis, any depiction or facsimile or controversial mention of any ancient character other than Saudi kings and princes is considered blasphemous. Iranian mullahs, apparently, are not of that “blasphemy” school of thought where films are considered.
Now it seems the “big no no” is being tested. A dusty organization called the International Association for Muslim Ulema (a bunch of clerics), wtf that be, has protested against the plans of an Iranian film company to produce a film representing the personality of the Prophet Mohammed. The clerics, located at Mecca, are pissed and have asked the Iranian government to prevent production of the film, to be simply titled “Mohammed”, and ban its showing. The ulema said that such film will besmirch the high status of the prophet and will harm his position and may even expose the Prophet to “ridicule”. The ulema noted that it is taboo to have prophets impersonated by actors.
No doubt the ulema have not read the script for the film (nor have I). But the ulema in Mecca are always pissed about something, except repression and the mind-boggling corruption around them in the Holy City and in the whole kingdom.
I think the only ridiculous characters here are probably these clerics who are afraid of anything new, of their own shadows. As for the taboo on actors impersonating the prophets, perhaps they can get a Saudi prince top play the role: he won’t be taboo. Now that Charlton Heston, with his cold cold hands, is dead.
Cheers
mhg

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Al-Qaeda, Cinema, Iraq, Saudi Arabia

Zero Dark Baghdad? Saudi Detainees in Iraqi Guantanamo………….

         

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“Twenty Saudi detainees in Iraqi prisons were tortured after the Iraqi national team lost the Gulf Cup football tournament to the UAE in a match supervised by a Saudi referee, according to Thamer Balheed, head of the Saudi detainees in Iraq. Balheed told Al Arabiya TV that the Saudi prisoners were severely beaten and insulted by Iraqi prison guards who blamed the Saudi referee for their national team’s 1-2 defeat to the UAE. A sport commentator on an Iraqi television network lost his temper during the match, issuing live prayers against Saudi referee Khalil al-Ghamdi and accusing him of being unfair to Iraq. Iraq and Saudi Arabia have recently resumed security cooperation talks, including discussion on a prisoners exchange deal. This came after a Saudi man was released from an Iraqi jail and said he was tortured by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Balheed has previously stated that up to 60 Saudi detainees are being held in Iraqi prisons. He noted that they are being kept in different prisons and are all staying in deplorable conditions and exposed to various forms of torture…………….”


This would be a terrible story, if it were (completely) true. Yet it is hard to credit a story of Iraqis torturing Saudi prisoners because they lost a game to Emiratis. Especially if the source is the Saudi semi-official Alarabiya network. I am against both torture and the death penalty: they are both barbaric no matter who inflicts it and who is at the receiving end.

I doubt that any of these Saudis entered Iraq to visit the shrines in Karbala. The Iraqis suspect that most of them snuck (okay, sneaked) in illegally to bomb and murder Iraqi civilians. As they and their other Al-Qaeda colleagues from various Arab states have been doing in Iraq for 12 years. I also suspect that the headlining is partly aimed at creating more hostility toward Iraqi Arabs inside the Arabian Peninsula. However, I can be wrong: torture has been common in Iraq for decades, its art perfected by the Baath Party. So have executions, and the new regime in Baghdad is an avid executioner: as avid as Iran and Saudi Arabia and Texas. It is hard to give up old habits.

Of course, the Saudis automatically quickly behead any foreigner they suspect of plotting terrorism on their soil. I can give a long list of that. I can also give a long list of those beheaded on charges of witchcraft and sorcery and magic and fortune-telling and interpreting dreams (both dry and wet), among other things. And the regime, and the system, are have been at it longer.

On the other hand I saw the film Thirty Dark Zero yesterday. It is about the CIA allegedly torturing its way throughout several little Guantanomos around the world. Torturing its way toward Osama Bin Laden and his merry little band of terrorists (and a bunch of their poor innocent children) in AbbottAndCostelloAbad, Pakistan. 
Cheers
mhg

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Cinema, Culture, Iran

Iranian Cinematic Dichotomy: from Ancient History to Depicting Life under a Theocracy……..

        

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“Iran is planning its own version of the Ben Affleck movie “Argo,” The New York Times reports, upset about what it calls the Hollywood flick’s “Islamophobia.” The movie, to be called “The General Staff,” is expected to give an accounting of the 1979 Islamic revolution and the U.S. hostage crisis from the perspective of the Iranian regime. It will reportedly be directed by Ataollah Salmanian and financed by the Iranian government’s Art Bureau. “This film, which will be a huge production, should be an appropriate answer to the film ‘Argo,’ which lacks a proper view of historical events,” Salmanian reportedly told the Iranian news agency Mehr this week. Iran’s revolutionary students sparked a political crisis in the United States when they took 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days and contributed to former President Carter’s resounding loss…………….”

The Iranian cinema industry, the part that the outside world is aware of and watches, seems to be moving along two main tracks.
On the one hand are the superb acclaimed films produced by independent free-spirited film makers, some of which have won international acclaim and awards. The last one was “A Separation” that got an Oscar last year. These films have survived and thrived under the theocracy, perhaps because film-makers have to be creative to deliver their critical message under state scrutiny and censorship. But some of these artists are also in prison for supporting opposition protests and others are in exile and the censors are reportedly becoming more intrusive. Artists everywhere are by nature wary and skeptical of politicians, and for good reason.
On the other hand there are epic historical films that are sponsored by the government. Cecil B. DeMille type films. Usually many of these officially-sponsored films evolve around ancient historical figures and events, including prophets (cinematic impersonation of prophets seems to be acceptable in Iran although it is not allowed in most other Muslim countries). Iranian films are also sometimes produced as a reaction to, and to counter, some Western films involving Iran. (My own favorite Middle East films were those old ones produced in Egypt, up until the 1960s. After that it has been mostly a steep downhill slide in quality for Egyptian cinema).
I have posted a few relevant links here, for your reading and (mainly) for my own archival purposes:


Holy Moses? Official Iranian Film Digs up Ancient Zionists, Snubs the First

Regime Cinema: the Iranian Obsession with British Plots

Clint Eastwood in Iran: From Spaghetti Westerns to Chelo Kebab Westerns

Creativity in a Theocracy: One Iranian Film on its Way to the Oscars

Cheers
mhg

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Cairo, Cinema, Egypt, Muslims, Salafi, Saudi Arabia

Egypt: a Fateful Salafi Nose Job, Catholic Riyal and Princely Saksooka…………

 

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“Egypt’s Islamist Salafist al- Nour party has dismissed one of its parliament members from its ranks after he received a rhinoplasty surgery he claimed was meant to cover up an operation on his nose. Salafist member of the People’s Assembly Anwar al-Balkimy claimed that he was robbed and beaten on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and that he sustained injuries and bruises on his face that required an operation. The state-run MENA news agency confirmed that masked gunmen attacked Balkimy on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway and robbed the MP of 100,000 Egyptian pounds. Balkimy told MENA he was surprised when five masked people in a black Jeep stopped his car and stole the money. They wanted him to step out of the car but he resisted, so they beat him, he said………… A doctor in a beauty hospital in Cairo reportedly notified the authorities that after an operation Balkimy insisted to leave the hospital without the hospital’s clearance………..”

That Salafi son of a gun. He probably had matrimonial plans: third or fourth wife or maybe trade in one of the older models. Celebrating his new political fortune. A nose job: that won’t make him look like Joan Rivers. Must have cost a bundle of Saudi Riyals. At least the Saudi princes aren’t into nose jobs, not yet, not from the looks of them hooked Hollywood-style noses; straight out of Central Casting. Not a one of them has a nose like Joan Rivers, not yet. Somehow the hooked nose goes with the jet-black dyed goatee (a k a saksooka).
FYI: did you know that the Riyal (or Rial) comes from the Spanish “real” meaning “royal”? Very Catholic of the Saudis and Qataris and Omanis and Iranians to honor Torquemada in such a fruitful monetary way. Back to the Egyptian Salafi and his nose……
Cheers
mhg


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Cinema, Culture, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Creativity in a Theocracy: One Iranian Film on its Way to the Oscars………….

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“Yet since his film’s premiere early this year, Asghar Farhadi has found success inside and outside his home country with “A Separation,” the film resonating with audiences who read it alternately as a deeply felt domestic drama and a finely crafted sociopolitical allegory. When the film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, it walked away with the Golden Bear, the festival’s top prize, as well as awards recognizing the film’s lead actor and actress. The film, which opens in Los Angeles on Dec. 30, has gone on to be one of the most universally celebrated of the year. It was recently still running a rare 100% rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on more than two dozen reviews. It was a box office hit within Iran and was chosen to represent the country as its submission for the Academy Award for best foreign language film………..”
 
I find it interesting that under the repressive theocracy Iranian films have thrived. Arguably the best films in the Middle East over the past three decades have been produced in Iran, with many of them winning international prizes. I have always thought that is because film-makers, like all artists and authors, need to get more creative and more subtle in their messages under less open regimes. (North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the Taliban would be exceptions to this rule).


The Iranians may have some competition at the Oscars. My unreliable source tells me fhe Saudi government is working on a film about the life and times of their Mufti Shaikh al Al Al Shaikh. Meanwhile the al-Nahayan rulers of the UAE plan new film about their late father Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahayan. The film may star Sean Connery or Abe Vigoda (assuming he is alive): one of them will play Zayed, the other his brother Shakhboot whom he overthrew and made to disappear along with his sons. None of the films will cover the loves and marriages of the two worthies.
Cheers
mhg


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