LE DESTIN
France/Egypt, 1997, Not rated, 135 min
Directed by Youssef Chahine
With Nour El Sherif, Laila Eloui, Mahmoud Hemida, Safia El Emari and Mohammad Mounir.

Friday, January 6 @ Alliance française Miami
Alliance française members free - Non member $5

In 12th century Andalusia, the famed philosopher Averroes is appointed grand judge by the caliph. His liberal views, however, are not liked by everyone. The caliph's political rivals, centered around the leader of a fanatical Islamic sect, force the caliph to send Averroes into exile, but thanks to his students, Averroes ideals lived on.

Nominated for the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 1997

“Much of the film's interest comes from historical details. We hear of the great Arabic contributions to mathematics, and we see a fascinating invention, a telescope that uses the magnifying power of water in order to work. We see a society that is part European, part Arabic, in which Islam is as much a political movement as a religious one. And then there is the uncanny way the characters have of looking toward the camera and simply breaking out into song. There are places in the world where ``Le Destin,'' directed by the veteran Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, would be controversial--even dangerous. In those places, the music and romance will help find a wider audience for a charged message. The interest in this country is more indirect. The film is naive and simple at times, even clumsy in its musical sequences, and yet lurking beneath its story is a conflict between rationalism and fundamentalism that is as fraught today as it ever was.” Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun Times

Special thanks to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Miami Dade College and Institut français

Complete serie program “Films Historiques”
Third Friday of the month - 6:45 pm @ MDC Tower Theater, Miami
First Friday of the month - 6:45 pm @ Alliance française Miami

Les caprices d'un fleuve      more
Vénus noire     more
La France      more
Indigènes    more
Au revoir les enfants      more