The Yellow House

Music is always mesmerizing and it touches the mass audience despite their diversities. It is often the simple metaphoric lyrics or sometimes just the tune that works the trick and becomes the very soul of narration in a film.
To the audience who thronged Kairali Theatre (one of the venues for the IFFK screenings) on a Monday morning, the music director Saycal Salhi gave the lead into the fantastic movie The Yellow House through a piece of music played on oudh, a traditional Arabian musical instrument.
The film, directed by Amor Hakkar, opens with a wedding procession. But the merriments of this happy occasion are accompanied by a piece of tragic news which is about to shatter the happiness of a simple family. The only son of this family has met with an accident. This tragic news of the death of his son sets the father on a journey which is full of humane encounters, through which he discovers a world of kindness which is too magical. It is a world where grief is amply compensated by joy, and sorrow by music.
Already enticed into the movie with the charming piece of music, the audience at the end walked out of the theatre cheerfully humming the theme music. A gala conclusion to a wonderful fantasy movie. While coming out, I approached a viewer with the question, "What do you take away with you from this movie?" With a gentle chuckle he started with the song from the movie and walked away humming. The sense of the Arabic lyrics may have been lost, but the music was right there.

Rohini Kumar© FIPRESCI 2008