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'Wa'alaikumussalam Paris' A search for love & God
Another village: An aerial view of the coupleâs house in countryside near Bordeaux
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Another village: An aerial view of the couple's house in countryside near Bordeaux.
Wa'alaikumussalam Paris is another religious-themed romantic comedy that risks repeating the tropes of its predecessors.
After producing Assalamualaikum Beijing (Peace be upon you, Beijing) in 2014, Maxima Pictures released Wa'alaikumussalam Paris (Peace be upon you, Paris) this month. Despite having Muslim greetings on their titles, the two movies are not related to each other.
It's always interesting to discuss why religious-themed, comedy and action films draw the biggest crowds to cinemas.
However, regardless of the reasons, the numbers alone are enough to convince local film houses to allocate large budgets to production, especially if the project involves a mix of two or more of the best-selling genres.
Hijab, Kukejar Cinta ke Negeri Cina (I'm Chasing Love to China) and Talak 3 (Divorce) are among the most successful religious-themed romantic comedies of the past three years ' a period that has also seen the use of world cities as settings.
After Beijing, Prague, the Netherlands and London, now it's time to explore Paris and the beautiful landscape of southwest France, where some of the world's best wine is made.
Helmed by award-winning director and scriptwriter Benni Setiawan, Wa'alaikumussalam Paris follows Itje (Velove Vexia), who is married to a handsome French man named Clement (Nino Fernandez) for all the wrong reasons.
A social media butterfly, Itje can't wait to leave her parents' home in Bojong, a village in Garut, West Java, to be in the romantic city of Paris and to take a selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower when the couple moves to France.
She flies into a tantrum upon finding out that their home is in the middle of nowhere in the countryside near Bordeaux, with no internet connection or landline telephone, and that Emen, as her husband is affectionately called, is only a caretaker of a vineyard ' and not the landowner.
Her loneliness finds relief during harvest time, because one of the hired hands is an Indonesian. Dadang (Tanta Ginting), who also hails from Garut, is asked to teach Emen ' who has converted to Islam ' all about the religion.
Conflict arises when Clement's former girlfriend Camille returns to the scene and heartbroken Itje decides to come back home.
The story, also written by Benni, works well only if the viewer is familiar with the trope of Sundanese people pronouncing 'F' and 'V' as 'P' ' meaning Itje and everyone in the neighborhood pronounce Paris as 'Faris'.
The work explores the culture shock of intercultural marriage and the fact that even a village girl cannot survive without Wi-Fi.
The subplot of the relationship between Clement and his father, the vineyard owner, and his Indonesian-Muslim mother neatly fits in with the story to explain all the efforts he takes to keep the marriage intact.
Velove shows consistent acting as a spoiled child who fails to set an example of a good Muslim to her husband.
She may well be the next Lydia Kandou, the comedy diva who nailed her appearance in Chaerul Umam's successful comedy flick Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap (Chase Me, I'll Catch You, 1986), if she continues her work in the genre.
Lydia plays Itje's mother, who considers her daughter's marriage an achievement for the family compared with her marriage to Itje's father Engkos (Joe P Project), which was considered bad luck.
Both parents also wish their second daughter, Ine (Luthya Sury), could get a better husband than local guy Yayat (comedian Boris Bokir), who sells gem stones for a living.
A commendable performance comes from Nino, who speaks fluent French in the film and shows the controlled acting of a man in love with his newfound religion.
The French supporting actors contribute much to the film, although they are not given the credit they deserve.
Cinematographer Fahmy J. Saad uses soft, natural tones, the right choice to accentuate the colors of autumn, when the filming was taken place.
In cinemas March 17, the film is an interesting take on the trials of conversion, and shows that God and love can be found anywhere.
' Photo Coutesy of Maxima Pictures
