-THE WOMAN SERVANTSThe women working in the palace of the last Bey are united in their situation. Their main duty being the upkeep of the house and the preparation of meals, they also serve as sexual servants to the princes. From the outside, then, the palace is a revered place of grandeur and importance; on the inside, however, we see a harem of clandestine activity and unspoken shame. These are the 'silences' referred to in the film's title.We get a good impression of the women's tiring and monotonous work maintaining the palace, although Tlatli also places considerable focus upon their role as sexual servants, as it is so destructive to the morale of the women, robbing them of identity and self-worth. The servants are cut off from the outside world and therefore unable to improve their situation - we hear how one servant's cousin came to visit her at the palace but was turned away. The women are prisoners of the palace, having no life beyond its walls.-THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT AND ITS EFFECT ON THE SERVANTSThe film is set at a time of great political and social uncertainty. Tunisian independence is imminent, and a quick transfer of authority from the French to the Tunisian government - as happened in some other Maghreb countries - will undoubtedly lead to sudden and drastic changes in Tunisian society.The women of the palace listen to news bulletins about the nationalist movement whenever they can. On one hand, they do not feel directly affected by it due to their insular existence within the palace walls: their detached world within the palace gives them a sense of security, just like long-serving prison inmates. On the other hand, the nationalist movement carries optimism for the women: it is the only source of hope for eventual liberation from their pitiful situation. With no legal status or identity, the servants are not even recognised members of society.-KHADIJA AND ALIAWe see numerous examples of the frustration and despair that the women suffer throughout the film. Khadija, Alia's mother, has lived and worked as a servant to the Beys - and as a sexual slave to Sidi Ali - for her whole life. She cannot leave as she has nowhere else to go. She places all her hopes for the future in her daughter. As Alia grows up, Khadija fears for her daughter's safety against the sexual desires of her masters. She is desperate for Alia to avoid the suffering that she has lived with, and therefore nourishes her daughter's ability and enthusiasm for music, in the hope of liberating Alia. Khadija puts her small earnings towards the purchase of a lute.Alia has an independent spirit, which most clearly manifests itself in her love for singing and playing the lute. We are made to feel optimistic for Alia as she grows up. She develops hope in the nationalist movement through her teacher (and later her lover) Lotfi. Unlike her mother before her, Alia has a belief that she must withstand the pressures imposed upon her by her situation in the palace. Her personal struggle is, however, ultimately tragic: we see her at the end having lost confidence in her music and in herself, due in part to her tragic miscarriage.Portraying the women of the palace as she does - and particularly through the character of Alia - Tlatli draws upon a need for Tunisian women to come to terms with the pains of the past. By constructing a scenario whereby Alia relives the painful memories of her childhood by revisiting Khalti Hadda and the deserted palace, Tlatli underlines the repression that women suffer. Without coming to terms with their personal trauma and tragedy, Tunisian women cannot improve their status, despite the nation's independence and political stability.

Assimilated into the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881 until President Habib Bourguiba, leader of a two-year guerrilla war for independence, declared Tunisia a republic in 1957, ending the rule of the former Ottoman Beys. Winner of the Cannes Jury Prize in 1994, Tunisian director Moufid Tlatli's Silences of the Palace depicts the oppressive nature of the male-dominated palaces and the price that women servants had to pay. Required not only to cook and clean, but to serve the sexual needs of the princes, Silences shows the consequences in the lives of two strong-minded but vulnerable women: Khedija (Amel Hedhili) and her young daughter Alia (Hend Sabri).The film opens in the 1960s. Alia (Ghalia Lacroix), is now 25 and performing as a night club singer. Though she is nominally free, she is beholden to a man who refuses to marry or have children. When she learns of the death of Prince Sidi Ali (Kamel Fazaa) she returns to the palace in which she grew up to pay a condolence call to Ali's near-blind widow (Najia Ouerghi), a visit that opens the floodgates of memories. Told in flashbacks, the film shows Alia as a pre-adolescent becoming increasingly aware of her own body and sadly, of her mother's true role in the palace. Alia is a gifted singer and the musical numbers in the film are hauntingly beautiful but nothing can hide the torment the young girl faces in trying to find out who her father is and to sort out where she belongs. The performance of Ms. Sabri is wondrous as she conveys the confusion of coming of age in a non-nurturing environment while still maintaining her charm and enchanting us with her songs.Tlatli, in her first feature film, never shoots outside of the palace interior, conveying the sense of oppression and isolation though the servants listen on the radio to news about the growing struggle for independence. The women are strong and resilient, however, in spite of what they must face each day. Though Khedija tries to protect her daughter from the same fate she suffers, she knows that her power is limited. "If a man touches you, run away,'' she tells her, "Your place is with me in the kitchen." When Alia suggests that they both leave together, her mother can only respond "Where would we go? This is the only home I've ever known." While Tlatli bravely challenges the institutions that led to male dominance, there is a tone of resignation and acceptance in the silences that suggests the subservient role many women play in Moslem countries to this day. Silences of the Palace is a lovely film but one that left me with a sense of aching loss.

The best film ever made in the Arab World really isn't a superlative that would be difficult to attain, but this film is really a masterwork.Aliya a singer with an superb voice but little success is invited to the palace where she spent her childhood as the daughter of a servant. She never really got to know who her father was, that she has been invited back to the palace after the head of the household, member of the Turkish ruling family of pre-independence Tunisia has died is no accident.Back in the palace all her childhood memories come back to Alia. She remembers her mother being the concubine of the deceased. His wife was barren, and she becomes sure that she is his daughter.She also remembers how her love for music helped her to gain prestige in the palace. But the songs she sang were not just entertainment. The melodies of Umm Kulthum were broadcasted by Radio Cairo to spread the message of Arab awakening and the longing for independence. Albeit its political aspects also the ruling family, a puppet on the strings of the French, enjoys the music. But for the masses the songs also become a symbol for the longing for freedom. falls in love with one student who is an independence activist. He is hiding in the palace where his aunt is another servant. He promises her a brilliant future but already at the beginning of the film we are told that the promise was not to be kept.The film is a ingenious ridiculization of political rhetoric and seldom ever has Oriental music bee integrated in a film so brilliantly (except perhaps Ray's Jalsaghar). You will enjoy it even if Arab music doesn't mean anything to you.

This film is a gateway to Tunisian culture as it was when the country became independent. The principal character is a young girl who lives in a palace, but she is not a princess. In fact, her mother is some kind of a slave who works there without beeing paid for it and having any chance to get out of the palace. She doesn't want to tell her daughter, who her father is. Outside, the country is aiming to get loose of the French power. This is a story about strong women who live and work together and take care of each other. They are not beautiful like the American or European film stars, but still somehow sexy and very feminine. They are afraid of their sexuality, because they cannot control the desire it awakes in the powerful men around them. Their only hope to get out of the palace is marriage, but very few men see them inside the walls of the palace. One could think that the movie is very pessimistic. In the contary, the love of the women and of music create an atmosphere of hope and the new generation has a possibility to choose...