Hideous Kinky

Hideous Kinky

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Movie Reviews of Hideous Kinky

Movie Review: A True Psychedelic Classic
Summary: 5 Stars

This film has no story, really. Its more or less a collection of vignettes focussing on a mother and her two children in Marrakesch, Morroco. In Germany, producers decided for aeons before deciding that the German version of the film couldn't possibly be titled 'Hideous Kinky' and they then decided on the plain 'Marrakech' as the movie's name. The mother, played by Kate, is a young British woman who has dragged her two young daughters to Morocco in search of spiritual understanding. Its all set in the '60s and if you can find yourself the out of print soundtrack to the movie, GRAB IT! Its a find worth keeping.

The movie traces Kate's attempts to make sense, and some money, in a country she has embraced, but has its own problems in embracing her back. Her kids however, blend straight into the scenery without a problem. And what a scenery it is! This is perhaps the most beautiful Morocco has looked on film, and thats no careless statement. Through the course of the film, Kate falls in love with a handsome Islamic rogue, who falls so hard for her that he moves heaven and earth to get them back to England when they fall upon hard times. He knows he won't see them again, yet is willing to put his life in jeopardy for their happiness.

I loved this movie because its exactly the sort of film I enjoy. Its MUCH better than Kate's other Eastern influenced movie 'Holy Smoke'. Its also very refreshing to see how films such as these still pop up in an era where blockbusters have taken a front seat in the world of film-making.

I recently understood that this DVD is out of print, which means that the studio is no longer producing it. Amazon.com is one of the few online merchants who still have a few copies of the movie so I highly recommend you get your hands on this rarity before it disappears from the public eye completely! Its also not one of those films that are likely to pop up on a Criterion Collection anytime soon, so once its gone, I suppose it will take forever before its put back on DVD. Thats bad news for us hardcore fans of the movie, but I just wanted to drive the point home.

Highly recommended.

Summary of Hideous Kinky

Though fresh from her Titanic experience, Kate Winslet is no drippy hippy, bringing a refreshing feistiness to her role and looking fetching swathed in diaphanous layers. As her two daughters, Bella Riza (Bea, the wide-eyed younger one) and Carrie Mullan (Lucy, the sensible one) are brilliant discoveries--unselfconscious, charmingly quirky, and enjoying a camaraderie that belies their difference in characters. Completing the family unit is Julia's lover, the endearingly unreliable Bilal (a fiery performance from Saïd Taghmaoui). When the money runs out, their adventures begin and the resilience and practicality of the girls is contrasted throughout with the dreaminess of their mother, her sense of duty vying with her quest for self-discovery. Visually, it's a veritable feast as we're pitched from the color and cacophony of the marketplace to the dusty harshness of the mountains. And that elusive title--which is never explained in the film--is in fact a phrase coined by the girls as a term of approbation. --Harriet Smith