European Films

The Dutch dramatic comedy Shouf shouf habibi (Hush, Hush, Baby!) starts with a sardonic commentary in voice over on the few virtues and many vices of a remote mountain village in Morocco: “Who would want to live here? No wonder all Moroccans have left for the Netherlands!”. The narrator, Ap, is in fact a second generation Moroccan immigrant in the Netherlands and in this feature film debut of TV-maker Albert ter Heerdt, he initially tries to pose as a cool, leather-clad Dutch-Moroccan but eventually reveals himself to be just a flawed human being. Similarly, this comedy starts out as a pure laugh-out-loud fest but ends up being a tragicomedy that grows unexpectedly moving in its closing scenes.

 

The danger of making a comedy about an immigrant family is that it veers too strongly to either political correctness or a black-and-white depiction of the problems of the "immigrants" versus the "indigenous". Shouf shouf habibi! tries to overcome both by being radically -- and at times hilariously -- politically incorrect and by focusing on a second generation that tries to incorporate the best of both worlds -- though they often have a hard time deciding which is which. (Many of the proceedings early on the film are reminiscent of the work of Swedish-Lebanese comedy director Josef Fares.)

 

Ap (Mimoun Oaïssa) is the second son of three in a family that also includes his parents and a fashion savvy sister (Touriya Haoud). In a typical comedy set-up, he gets by from petty crimes committed with his three mates. Just as they are planning their big catch, a heist on a bank, Ap’s older brother, who is a police officer, has found him an office job in the same building. As the situation at home deteriorates (his sister does not want to marry the man of her father’s choice, his little brother is caught at school shooting pictures of girls in the changing rooms), Ap becomes uncertain about whether he should make the step from petty crime to the real deal. When he has finally decided to stop his criminal activities, he of course joins the gang at the last minute and gets arrested by his brother.      

 

Up to this point, the plot is secondary to a never ending stream of gags and attempts at humour, some of which works thanks to the precious comic timing and deadpan delivery of Oaïssa, who is the living Dutch-Moroccan equivalent of a foul-mouthed Muppet. What finally makes Shouf shouf habibi! interesting, however, is not its comedy but its surprisingly serious last reel, in which a bout of unexpected violence and its aftermath reveal a true emotional poignancy in Ap’s relationship with his family, especially with his sister and father. Better late then never, this is when the characters stop being caricatures and start to become more complex human beings. There is perhaps less to tickle the laughing muscles, but what is on screen here is certain to strike a chord with many immigrants.      

 

Director and screenwriter Ter Heerdt betrays his TV-origins with an unexciting and mainly functional lensing of the proceedings, a colourful Moroccan wedding notwithstanding. The cast benefits greatly from the charismatic qualities and both comedic and dramatic acting chops of Oaïssa; the supporting cast, including cameo appearances by local Dutch celebrities, is adequate. It will likely be difficult for foreign audiences to relate to the film in the way the local and not-so-local population of the Netherlands have done (it was the best visited Dutch film of 2004), but Shouf shouf habibi! nevertheless offers an interesting peek in a part of Dutch society that has remained largely unexplored on film.

 

Buy the DVD at nl.bol.com.

 

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