2024-04-16 23:58:27
For thirty nights, we were in front of a television drama that respects the mind of the viewer, takes into account the occasion of its presentation, and the specificity of the painful stage in which we live, and which requires a minimum level of appreciation of people’s feelings at the time of the tragedy in Gaza. The series “Taj” does not stray far towards stories of gangs, crimes, betrayals, and violence of all kinds, but rather brings us back to A history that emulates the present, the period of the colonial mandates, French and British, for the Levant, and specifically for Syria in the 1930s and 1940s, reaching the moment of evacuation and independence after a long struggle and suffering, imprisonment, killing, and recruitment of agents of whom no country or people is devoid, east and west. A work with integrated elements in writing (by the able young playwright). Omar Abu Saada), production (by Al-Sabah Company), direction (by Samer Al-Barqawi), performance (by a large group of veteran and new actors, led by Tim Hassan, Bassam Koussa, Joseph Bou Nassar, Noura Rahal and Andre Skaff, to the beautiful aristocratic face Faya Younan in her first starring role), and management of photography. (By the creative Polish Zbigniew Rybczynski, a graduate of the ancient “Lodz Institute” which gave cinema great directors and photographers such as Polanski, Wajda, Skolimovski and Zanussi) and a “Pharaonic” construction of the huge decorations (designed and executed by Adham Minawi, based on old photographs of Marjeh and Salihiya Square in central Damascus during the Mandate era) Battle design (by Maad Ward), clothing (by Raja Makhlouf), composition (by Salem Derbas, with a precise sense of rhythm), graphics and elaborate visual effects (by Mustafa Al-Barqawi), remarkable set management (by Muhammad Abu Al-Zand, assistant director), and music (by Ari Jan), to the rest of the large team that The result on screen shows his dedication and professionalism to a work that is not simple, arduous in preparation and filming, undoubtedly, to the point of exhausting his artistic, technical and acting energies.
The convincing revival of a historical era requires a large, courageous, and unhesitating production. Rebuilding buildings, squares, and sites, as they were nearly a century ago, requires the construction of huge, high-cost decorations, clothing, and accessories… a “crown” of giant production projects for which the figure of eight and a half million dollars has been mentioned as a budget for the series, and this A number that is only observed in foreign works, such as those famous for the British channel 4, or powerful streaming companies such as Netflix and others. There are very few and rare Arab dramas for which budgets of this size are allocated, because of the risk involved at various levels, which begins with the difficulty of implementation and does not end with ensuring the success of marketing and advertising and the audience’s follow-up rate. Nevertheless, the adventure was undertaken, and most likely thanks to the spirit of challenge known to Sadiq Al-Sabah, who has been working for years, between Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, to raise the level of Arab television drama to match international ones, and to win his bet with “Taj”.
Between reality and fantasy
The writer of the series, Omar Abu Saada, is a theater director and author. He wrote scripts for the stage before later turning into a theater director as well, noting that he is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus and created the “Studio Theater” team with some of his colleagues, and his works participated in international festivals between Berlin and New York. Avignon, Paris and Brussels. With “Taj,” he is embarking on his third experience in writing television dramas, after the series “Al-Zend: The Wolf of the Orontes” last year and the series “Information City,” which dates back to 2004.
Abu Saada transcends himself in “Taj,” advancing his writing experience in “Al-Zand,” which takes place in the same era. Here, his writing rises historically, politically, nationally, psychologically and dramatically to high levels, starting with the basic plot, to creating the characters of the series or reviving real historical figures such as Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, one of the major revolutionaries against the Ottoman authority and then against the French mandate, participating in the Syrian revolution before being exiled to Arwad and sentenced to death. He was executed and sought refuge in Egypt, then he returned as Minister of Defense in the First National Bloc government in 1936, and his name became a candidate to succeed Hashim al-Atassi as head of the bloc, which brought him to the presidency between 1943 and 1949 and again between 1955 and 1958. During his reign, Syria gained complete independence. He was nicknamed “Abu al-Jalaa,” and he was later the creator of the “Syrian Unity Republic” with Egyptian President and leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Al-Quwatli may not be the only real character in the series, and Abu Saada may have inspired some of his characters from real people who lived in that era for the series. It is likely that it has been well documented for its dramatic treatment, which is described at the beginning of the episodes as “a figment of the imagination and any similarity…” to the end of the formula adopted in historical treatments, knowing that the character of President Quwatli does not belong to imagination at all. The important thing is that the dramatic composition was correct for the writer to create an exciting, developed plot, with many unexpected incidents and surprises (such as the one in which “Nada,” the former lover of “Riyad,” signs the latter’s young wife, “Nouran,” Taj’s ex-wife, so he deceives her into an information deal in exchange for gold jewels, But she confides it to the lover who abandoned her and aspires to get him back, and he suddenly appears between them.) The craftsmanship of dramatic writing comes from Saada in two ways: the special authorial talent, and the theatrical culture that enabled him to possess the principles of dramatic writing, character development, event creation, building the psychological features of each of his innovative characters, or his historical figures, and weaving the best dialogues.
A director wins the challenge and the bet
It can be easily assumed, after watching the entire episodes of the series, that Samer Al-Barqawi has been facing a major challenge since the start of the project and a bet whose results may not be guaranteed due to its large size, the accuracy of its historical details, the large number of filming locations, and the enormous number of scenes and shots, both external and internal. A work of this magnitude frightens and worries any director (the great American director Martin Scorsese repeatedly expressed fear and anxiety when filming his large scenic works such as “Gangs of New York” and more recently “The Killers of the Moonflower”), so Barqawi is appreciated for taking the initiative and shouldering a responsibility of this magnitude as a conductor (courtesy of “L” Maestro Federico Fellini was involved in his entire work from A to Z.
Al-Barqawi, like the writer Abu Saada, surpassed himself far and wide and achieved his television masterpiece, which opens important future horizons for him as a director. In the standards of directing language, that is, composing the scene artistically (lighting and atmosphere, and I will come later to the very important contribution of the director of photography) and dramatically (the actors’ positions of movement and emotion and management of their psychological states and their verbal and physical expression) and the movement of the camera (between accompanying still or moving shots, bottom or top, wide). For the crowds in the external scenes, or the narrow intimacy of the internal scenes of a confrontational and charged nature) Al-Barqawi demonstrated high craftsmanship and remarkable elegance that truly and objectively qualify him for internationalism, which I do not think he aspires to, as in my opinion, his Arab, and even national, success is sufficient for him, which those working in the field should be satisfied with. Television and even in cinema, away from the hollow ambition of “globality”. If the artistic work had achieved global spread, acceptance and appreciation, in this case only it would be sufficient and praiseworthy.
Honest and amazing performance
The performance of all the actors in “Taj” satisfies us, from the oldest to the most recent, and from the most professional to the least experienced and experienced, thanks to their talents present to work under the guidance of a director who manages the cast well with one level of attention to the big role as well as the small role, all the way to the large crowd. Speakers or passers-by in the scene (here the contribution of one of the director’s assistants, Muhammad Abu al-Zand, in managing the crowds, and Moad Ward in designing the battles, is notable here).
Tim Hassan is skilled at creating the character of “Taj”, its features and movement, creating for it a way of pronunciation, dialect, tone and color of emotions between cruelty and irritation, calm and romance. He goes through various situations in succession, also creating a special walk, physically preparing (in the manner of De Niro in “Raging Bull”) for the professionalism of a boxer in multiple personalities. He is an athlete, an addicted gambler, an underground fighter, a tailor, and a casino keeper, in addition to other situations and phases that he lives and excels at together. A harmonious one.
What is astonishing is the able actor Bassam Koussa, who is creative to the utmost extent, and of an international standard, in the character of “Riyad Al-Johar,” the tailor who is an agent of the French, who raises chills in the body due to the horror of his latent violence behind a terrifying, malicious smile that hides the threat it conceals, or his apparent violence that appears repeatedly in… Acts of killing ordered by a hired killer and protector, or carried out by himself. A character built by the writer Abu Saada with intelligence and craftsmanship, as a “psychopathic” character who is contradictory despite the harmony of his actions, disturbed despite the deceptively elegant appearance, and whose pent-up violence suddenly explodes and turns into brutal horror. He is an agent and risk-taker, as much as he is terrified and cowardly in moments of disappointment and major transformations. I am amazed by this giant actor that I felt coming from “The Boys from Brazil,” Franklin Schaffner’s powerful film in which Laurence Olivier, the terrifying Nazi, excels. Riad’s face is not easily erased from memory, nor is his inner evil behind the changing masks. Great Bassam Koussa, with an internal performance that makes him a frightening villain, inside and out.
To Joseph Bou Nassar, who has theatrical, cinematic and television experience, here he finds “the role of his life,” as they say, adept at creating the character of the violent and sadistic French general who perfectly embodies the brutality of the mandate, or colonialism (there is no big difference), in humiliating the people of the country, torturing them, killing them, and employing them. The agents are small-minded among them, but on the other hand, he fails in his family life, with his Syrian wife, whom he abandoned, and his only son, also an officer in the French army, whose father’s cruelty prevents him from building a normal, compassionate relationship with him until the last moment. Bou Nassar masters the performance of his colorful character, between the peaks of cruelty and violence and the harshest cases of personal and family brokenness. He is aided by a taut acting nerve, a distinctive voice that he has always possessed in every performance, and a physical feeling that he expressed in various situations and scenes.
Faya Younan is the discovery of the series and her gift of a radiant new face to the Arab audience, even though she is in her first starring role here, coming from the world of singing to a major role that requires experience and skills that she does not yet have in acting. But it became clear after we saw her in the character of Nouran, Taj’s ex-wife, who has one young daughter with him. She later marries the undeclared agent of the French, Riad Johar (the wonderful Bassam Koussa again), who is a wealthy tailor who owns a sewing factory and lives in a luxurious house that will become “ “Noran” is like a prison and a life threatening for her and her daughter, until “Taj” returns to play the role of the savior and the repentant ex-husband who is determined to restore his family… Faya Younan emerged from this experience with remarkable success, as her first dramatic role in a long series of thirty episodes, and she was able to stand She was confident in front of experienced stars, specifically opposite Tim Hassan and Bassam Koussa, and the bet of director Al-Barqawi, who nominated her for the role with confidence, also succeeded.
The mention of actors applies to everyone without exception. Casting is excellent for the first, second, and fleeting roles and those with honorary presence, such as the great Mona Wassef, who only appears in a few scenes, as a tribute to her and a token of loyalty for her participation in previous works with the director. Also, the well-known and able actress Noura Rahal in the character of the casino woman “Zizi”, the hot and enthusiastic performer Muwafaq Al-Ahmad in the role of “Al-Sabouni”, the wonderful Sawsan Abu Ammar in the character “Fayza”, the veteran Andre Skaff “Al-Khawaja”, the owner of the casino, and Natasha Shoufani “Marion”. And the distinguished stature of Suhail Jabbai “Shafiq”, and the successful appearance and performance of Basil Haider in the character of President Quwatli, in addition to Ihab Shaaban, Farah Al-Dabiyat, Dojana Issa, Nawar Saad Al-Din, Joan Al-Khader, Loris Qazf, Jihad Al-Zoghbi, Ghassan Azab, Nadir Lakoud, Fawaz Sorour, Fadi Zgheib, Amira Khattab, Muhammad Murad, and others cannot accommodate. This highlighting of the work is to remind them all, and they are all remarkable in their roles, no matter how big or small or if they are merely passing.
Giant decorations and creative lighting
Arab television drama, for historical retrospectives, has rarely known the construction of decorations as large as those created specifically for “Taj,” and their mastery, beauty, and compatibility with the real buildings of Marjeh Square in Damascus in the thirties and forties, and the column in the middle of it, and the bridge, and the water fountains, and the tram, which made it historically one of the twenty most beautiful. City square around the world. On an area of 26 thousand square metres, the distinguished artist Adham Minawi undertook the design and implementation of this square, the facades of its high buildings, its shops, the Marjah Column, the temple building, the Umayyad Building, the telegraph building, the governorate building, the parliament, the central pharmacy, etc. What needs to be set extention was handled by the graphic designer and scenic effects designer, Mustafa Barqawi, to complete the amazing historical framework that can be considered one of the “heroes” of this epic “Pharaonic” work that resembles the construction of the pyramids of Egypt. This gigantic decoration required one hundred and forty-eight construction professionals, three and a half months of continuous work day and night to accomplish the difficult task, under the supervision of the director who scrutinized every detail and had the mise-en-scène in his head before standing behind the camera. The advantage of this achievement is not only in its magnitude, but in its beauty, which honestly brings us back to that era, so we truly live in it (perhaps some “retouching” and artistic dirtiness of parts of the decor was necessary to avoid leaving it completely), and in the perfection of its matching with historical buildings based on old photographs and maps of the area. .
Shukri Al-Quwatli may not be the only real character in the series
As for the creative image and its captivating historical atmosphere (the sepia is one of the rare times in which Salim was used), it is of the veteran Polish director of photography Zbigniew Rybczynski (75 years old), who put his long experience between cinema, television, and international video clips, and his academic studies, which he obtained in 1973 at one of the most important film institutes in The world, lodz, where the fundamental indoctrination of the dramaturgy of light and color and its dramatic use is not a superficial aesthetic as we sometimes see in our scenic industries, especially television. Here light, color and shadow are used creatively, in both external and internal scenes, and there is no dissonance between history and its color climates, nor between the dramatic situation and its light and shadows, nor between the sources of natural light and that artificial one. High professionalism, a deep understanding of the atmosphere of the era, lighting inspired by the depth of the drama without flaws or exaggerations. This is exactly what our Arab drama needs: science, knowledge, culture, and professionalism, and all of it was demonstrated in the work of this creative “young old man.”
Concluding note: The only problem with the “Taj” series may be the lack of proficiency in the French and English officers and soldiers (with the exception of Joseph Bou Nassar) pronouncing the two languages correctly. I wish those in charge had adopted the dubbing solution, meaning the use of French and English actors to dub the dialogues coming out of the actors’ mouths with pronunciation. not good. The translation (larger letter) should have been placed in classical Arabic, not in colloquial language, at the bottom of the screen. As for Syrian citizens, it is okay if they do not speak French or English, as this is more credible, but not the mandate groups. A work of such perfection and mastery, it would have been better if it had not been marred by a similar detail.
* Lebanese writer and art critic
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#Taj.. #Arab #drama #finest