The Arabic movie “Dear Friends” became controversial / Promotion of homosexuality by “Netflix”!

Fars News Agency – Cinema Group, Mohammad Kalhor: For a few days now, the movie “Dear Friends”, which has been broadcast on Netflix, has topped the list of the most watched movies in Arab countries, including Egypt. At the same time, it is the subject of much criticism and protest.

The film’s story – known as the Arabic version of the Italian film Perfetti sconosciuti – is about a group of old friends who, after a period of separation, reunite and decide to take part in a game involving Share all incoming messages and phone calls from your mobile phone with other friends. But this game endangers their lives and friendships!

In fact, the events and story of the film revolve around a group of 7 people, including a couple and a friend named Rabi, who meet for dinner and decide to play a game in which all their mobile phones are Put on the table, provided that all new messages or calls are visible to everyone. Soon this game, which at first seems entertaining and interesting, will become a place for scandals and revelations of secrets that no one, not even their dearest friends, knew about!

* The latest copy of an Italian movie

The Italian version of “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Paolo Genoze in 2016 and sold $ 31 million in Italy. The film grossed a total of $ 270 million in France, Germany, Spain and South Korea.

So far, 19 different versions of Italian films have been made around the world, which is a record number of copies. The latest copy is the Lebanese version of “Dear Friends” starring Mona Zaki, Ayad Nassar, Adel Karam, Nadine Labaki, Diamond Abboud and George Khabbaz, and is Wissam Samira’s first experience as a director. It is noteworthy that in the Korean version of the film, the presence of a person with a homosexual orientation has been removed from the film’s characters.

Adapted from the Italian version and being Netflix’s first Arabic film, the film has been met with a wave of criticism in Arab countries, especially Egypt, for a variety of reasons, including candid dialogue, shocking scenes and the expression of homosexuality. In the film, Lebanese actor Fouad Yamin plays a gay character.

* Arab communities criticize Netflix for breaking the norm

Critics of “Dear Friends” believe that the film promotes homosexuality and adultery in marriage and questions the values ​​that govern Arab societies, so they have called for a boycott. Safe Egyptian lawyers have filed a lawsuit against the plan. In an interview with Sadi Al-Balad, Ayman Mahfouz explained that the Netflix platform is suspicious and promotes homosexuality.

Nasser Al-Qasbi“Netflix is ​​corrupt in accepting homosexuality, and our future generations will remember it as a legitimate human right,” the Saudi comedian wrote on his Twitter account. He believes the film is good at dialogue and directing, but it offers homosexuality significantly.

Lillian DavidAl-Arabi TV host also tweeted that the name of the movie “The Companions of Vela Azz” should be named Pandora’s Black Box, because no one wants to open it and face the demons that appear from it.

Mahmoud Al-FikriThe Egyptian filmmaker also believes that the film “Dear Friends” is not suitable for our society and is a stupid reproduction of Western societies.

Mustafa Bakri In an interview with the Egyptian satellite channel Ambisy, the Egyptian MP also called for refusing to cooperate with Netflix in order to preserve the foundation of the Egyptian family.

“The Egyptian Ministry of Culture has banned the screening of this film in Egypt because it violates all standards,” he said. He asked the Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives to issue a statement against the creators of the series.

* The Performing Arts Union responds to the protests

The Performing Arts Union, in response to criticism of the film and its outrageous scene (starring Mona Zaki, who has filed a lawsuit against her in the Egyptian prosecutor’s office), without denying the allegations made about the film, said that the actors And the filmmakers support any action because supporting the freedom of initiative and artistic creativity is an essential part of the union’s duties! At the same time, it is the artists who, using soft power, raise the complex issues of society and sound the alarm when abnormal phenomena occur.

Ashraf Zaki“If I play the role of a drug dealer or a criminal, I am not Ashraf here, but I am an actor, so when Mona Zaki for There is no responsibility to play a particular role.

Mona Zaki He also congratulated those who starred in the film by posting on his Instagram page, which means that he is satisfied with the work and does not care about the criticism that is leveled at him. This is happening while he is one of the actors who raised the slogan of “clean cinema” 20 years ago and gained a wide audience.

Mohammad RifatEgyptian film critic acknowledges that the crisis of “Dear Friends” is that Mona Zaki is an actress known for her commitment to morality and the society in which she lives, but played a different role in the character of “Maryam”. Shocked some because the new image contradicts what was known about him. “Breaking taboos is not positive in all cases, and it can have negative consequences,” he told Al-Arab. Courage is needed, but in a conscious way that does not completely contradict customs.

محمد شریف, Other Egyptian critics also consider the film to be technically normal, arguing that since it has a limited location, more cuts and the use of other spaces in the house could have prevented the audience from getting bored. He criticizes the action of “Mona Zaki”, the star of action movies, and believes that his acting in the scenes that have a humorous theme is artificial, although at the end of the film, he compensates it with emotional scenes and crying.

According to Fars, although Egypt is one of the Muslim countries where there are some incidents that are contrary to moral and Islamic practices, but the Muslim people of this country are very sensitive to some issues, including the normalization of the issue of homosexuality. احمد الطیب Sheikh Al-Azhar has repeatedly mentioned this issue in his recent meetings and speeches, stating that we oppose the imposition of Western culture on our country, such as legalizing homosexuality.

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