The Silences of the Palace

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The Silences of the Palace ★★★ Les Silences du Palais 1994

Set in 1950s Tunisia at the end of the ruling monarchy. Twenty-five-year-old Alia (Lacroix) returns to the run-down palace where she was born and grew up as the daughter of a lifelong servant, Khedija (Hedhili), who was also the sexual favorite of her master, Prince Sidi Ali (Fazaa). She remembers the limited, repressed existence they endured and realizes that, ten years after leaving the palace, she has traded one form of subjugation for another and has yet to find her own independence. Arabic with subtitles. 116m/C VHS . FR Ghalia Lacroix, Amel Hedhili, Kamel Fazaa, Hend Sabri, Najia Overghi; D: Moufida Tlatli; W: Moufida Tlatli, Nouri Bouzid; C: Youssef Ben Youssef.

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