Original subtitles

Tawfikiah boss?

Get in, Get in.

Excuse me ladies, just earning a living.

My name is Dunia I come from Luxor.

I'm twenty-three.

I have a B.A. in literature from Cairo University.

I like poetry.

I even write some.

What interests you in poetry?

Love.

What aspect of love?

Poetry of desire.

An international competition is at stake.

Should you make it, you would represent Egypt.

Would you recite something for us?

In the jealous eyes of my censor

Jealous ,of your days,your very hours,

Even if I hid you in my eyes

Till Judgment Day- that would not suffice

I hear what you're saying,

but I would like you to feel it.

You, felicity, the torment of my heart

How sweet, how harsh you are

I have messages of burning love

Were it not for the censor

It's amazing, you're auditioning For a dance competition

yet, you're as stiff as a corpse.

Try to feel your body!

I've never seen my body.

The first time I saw a naked woman's body was at the movies.

In a French film.

Two years ago.

I learnt to sit like this so no one could glimpse my body.

By the way, her thesis is on poetry.

She needs a professor like you.

No one can tell who needs who.

Are selected candidates number:

One, four,

eight,

seven, ten.

Belly dancer's daughter!

If you were to supervise my work,

I would be very happy!

- It has to please me first. - It will,

she's my pupil.

- Got something to show you. - What?

- Do you see the lil'birdie? - No

No! No, and no!

Torment me, got no right

I wait for you all night

as my heart beats, bang bang

Love from dusk till dawn? In bed all day long?

Go mind your daughter.

Mother in law, you sound like a broken-record.

Go mind your daughter.

At your service, pretty lady

Two apple chichas, and a mango juice, juicy mango.

You lead one tough life.

Better than mine with my Luxor's aunt.

You don't look so good.

Same old story. Forcing me into marriage.

It's up to you. No one can force you.

Hard work, that's one thing,

a forced marriage, is a different story.

We're not getting enough of you at home, you have to drive now?

Let everyone make it through the day.

Lighten up, lighten up big daddy, play nice.

Good evening honey love!

- What a glue-stick - Sour honey!

Lighten up kiddo, it'll help you float.

Because it is like you my love

Because it is like you, I loved it

I yearned to call you my love

I yearned to call you then I called so..

- Communist. - Decadent. Heretic!

It's easy to speak of treason and lack of patriotism

when one refuses all dialogue.

You serve those who pay you well!

- Communist - New look communist!

Such stops liking the pyramids, let's blow them up!

Another hates the Nile, let's dry it out!

You'd say he's a madman.

The same madman is prohibiting the thousand and one nights

crazier than him those that say nothing

It's a real scandal A work such as this one!

Have it seized?

Sheherazade taken to court?

Why do we always despise our culture?

But it's an immoral work!

An illicit book..

- So what exactly are you defending? - Depravity

Who are you to decide of what is licit and illicit?

Put it off Ahmad.

An oil advertisement

to end a debate like this one.

We don't know how to dialog anymore,

conduct a debate.

The one that disagrees will have his tongue chopped off.

We will not answer him with reason.

No? What say you to this?

Think about it.

Think.

LIGHT

Are we gonna remain quiet?

wi hose “ we”?

A hundred intellectuals have signed

this petition to be published in tomorrow's paper

but you're in the forefront. So calm down.

Calm down, how?

I stop writing? I stop thinking?

It's the third attack, and it gets worse every time.

You can't go on like this..

Your life is in danger.

We don't have to agree on everything.

- Hello Issam - Hello

Have you seen Wahid?

- He's on his cloud. - He's a star.

- Neglecting the press - He's the star of the newsroom.

Where's my article?

It's been moved from the cultural to the political page.

Fine!

Straighten up!

Lift your head!

Don't frown!

Your neck..

Breathe.

You've got headaches..

Breathe.

Shoulder.

Your mother wore this scarf for her first performance.

She was very afraid.

She wasn't a success story overnight.

She worked hard,

to become the best.. In the world.

Do you want to be like her?

Fight.. Like her

Sweat.. Like her.

Your mother was not just a dancer for me

Your head!

She taught me to look deeper

into the essence of things.

Your shoulder.

It's all in the head,

think with it, but more importantly

think with your heart.

Are you willing to learn?

I'm ready.

Not even “hi”?

What are you doing here?

Can you live without me?

Especially when I don't see you.

Let's stop seeing each other then.

I've missed you.

Oum Antar. What's going on?

I found a solution for Yasmine. The doctor will only

- cut out half of the clitoris. - No!

A small piece. Just a quarter.

Quarter? Half? We're selling tomatoes by the kilo?

You don't decide for my daughter.

I don't want to see you at school!

Fine, fine.

Go on! Close the doors.

- Hi Antar! - What's the hurry beautiful?

How's the new degree coming along?

For three pounds and a half,

Come, Look, Enjoy!

Yasmine, your grand-mother!

Come here you brat. What are you doing?

Come down!

Between you and your mother, I dunno where to look anymore.

You neck is stiff.

From leaning over too many books.

Don't know what else to do.

See you next week.

No! No and no!

Tease me? Got no right!

Torment me? Got ho right!

No! No and no!

Do you love him?

He says he loves me.

He saysita lot.

And I tend to believe him.

But do you love him?

I don't want to lose him.

And you, do you love him?

I adore her! And that's what matters.

I do not fear my ideas,

inspiration, or the truth..

what frightens me, is the fear of others,

and their inability to confront it..

Professor Beshir?

He's waiting for you at the archives room.

I consider

that shutting down

a historic publishing house

such as Sobeih

to whom we owe

the first printed text

of the thousand and one nights,

and dragging its owner to court to be a disaster.

This is why

I call upon all those

who can find

the original edition

to photocopy it

and distribute it

to those who ask for it.

I'll call you back.

- Hello - I'm sorry

So where is this thesis at then?

Have you defined your topic yet?

Love

I want to study love in Arab poetry

But I don't know how to go about it

- have you been in love before? - 1 don't know

When you do you think you'll know?

When I do.

Working with you is not going to be a joyride.

Can physical love lead to mystical love?

Why the flashy titles! Look at things simply.

Take the theme of separation,

of encounter, of pleasure,

of fusion with the loved one

in Ibn Hazm

expressions of desire in Ibn Arabi

Or ecstasy of the soul and body

Yes, ecstasy of the soul and body

Ecstasy.

It's a big deal.

The high point of love.

The summit of a peak

that you only reach with pain and patience.

You can either reach it

or be afraid and turn back. It happens.

Kill it kids.

You're here

for a wedding, an anniversary, or a excision?

I'm only here to watch

I am the daughter of almeh Asma.

Almeh Asma? You're Dunia!

Come here dear, let me Kiss you.

I spent a lifetime with your mother!

You look just like her, as beautiful.

- I want to become a dancer... - A pro?

Would you help me?

Me.. training Asma's daughter?

Suit her up girls!

- Come along gorgeous - She's so pretty

The prophet bless her!

- But she's so thin. - So small.

Put on some meat

No belly, no chest.

No curves but sweet as honey.

Aunt, did my mother worry about me?

She's dead and buried now my child.

My mother lives on in me.

She was a belly dancer.

She was an artist.

She's got nothing to do with you.

You're our own flesh and blood

Forget about her, you're one of us.

But she's my mother, my mother.

A black spot on your father's record,

Permanent, even in death.

Because of her, You' Il be allowed no mistakes.

In an unfortunate incident,

Dr. Beshir El-Masri,

was attacked by unknown perpetrators,

as he was getting into his car.

His optical nerve was damaged, and his chances

of regaining his sight are uncertain.

That's what we gain from being a bookworm,

you'll end up blind as a bat.

How else would you've met me on campus?

Wait!

I'll light your way. A lighter!

I missed you.

I'm watching the movie.

You changed your perfume?

You're going to pay the cinema all week.

So, do you love me or not?

You talk about pleasure, desire...

But it's like you feel nothing.

Would you marry a non-virgin even if you're the..

Stop it!

Do you think I am that backwards?

I prefer not to put you to the test.

- Good morning Dunia! - Good morning Oum Ahmed!

Stairs are dangerous and you're still young.

God protect you from the stairs.

And from the evil eyes that stare.

Take your energy from the earth

Like this, there you go!

Your axis goes from your head to your feet.

When the earth goes around the sun...

it leans over its axis.

When you dance, lean over the axis of your body.

Your left hand, looks down.

Your right hand, up.

And all that is up,

is down.

And all that is down, is also up.

We're in the centre. And the universe is infinite.

Think of a ball in your womb.

It turns from left to right, and from right to left,

like an embryo that floats in its mother's womb.

Find the deeper meaning of things.

Your movement is not important.

All that you're looking for is here, inside you.

Why did you stop?

Dance, the universe dances!

Dance!

Dance!

I begged for a Kiss

Which she deigned bestow

With embarrassment

And disdain

And I said, my god my cruel lady

One more Kiss

to quench my thirst!

She smiles

And tells me

This Persian proverb which

Withstands the test of time

If she gives in first

He'll be twice as greedy

And demand a second Kiss

What sets Bashar Ibn Burd

and the poets of love apart is their free minds.

No law forbids love.

But us, we are afraid of love. Even a kiss is forbidden.

- Speak for yourself! - What do you mean?

- You want to start a riot? - Goon!

- I'm not thinking of anything wrong! - Debauchery! Depravity!

Some might say, no doubt,

that erotic poetry is obscene,

even blasphemous.

That might be true. But where?

In who's opinion? And why?

How is it received?

Those who read and understand, will recognize the beauty

of true and audacious love poetry...

The art of life itself.

I love you. For you.

I don't expect you to love me back.

Would I like to be

what I know not?

Distinguishing marks: crossed out

On my identity card,

crossed out like “sex”

In my being and my feelings

and as long as I remain to be found

And my colour to be determined

My dream to come true

The first letter of my name

First letter

... ho

Are you crazy!

You come up during the day now?

I love you.

And I'm afraid of losing you.

I'm scared to love and be abandoned

Let me play as I please. I do what I want

I never win! Let's stop

A game of “Crazy eight”?

No!

I feel like dancing!

Tell me “prince” what time is it?

Where do you think you are, mother's boy?

Where were you?

- What is it? - I'll show you

What's going on here? Hands down! Got a problem?

Don't play tough! My cousin is bringing me a letter.

Come back here and you'll be sorry!

Enough!

Come on. You too. Follow me.

Better not see you here again

Take my books for the hostel.

Adrift in the streets

Lost in the city

Wandering in my sorrows

Aimless in my tears... Grieving. Grieving.

Professor! Not a kind word?

None of the streets

Eased my pain

None of the streets

Eased my pain

Dried my tears

Gave back what was lost

“Who can censor such a great book?”

"Sheherazad taken to court?”

You're using my words Master?

I knew we would meet,

I just didn't it see it this way.

You'll open the doors of knowledge .

You're the one who's going to do so

Or we had better find us a new professor.

Mark the rope

Follow the rope

Continue.

Watch your feet.

Find your marks

That's good.

Don't look like that,

look like this.

The space that surrounds you is yours,

learn how to seize it, you will see even blind.

I end going around in circles.

Turn. The earth is turning,

you will find the mirror of your youth,

When you swirled like a dervish,

Twenty years ago...

Ah.. twenty years ago!

The silk slips off And caressed by the water

She blushes

In ecstasy, her naked body

Shivers in the wind

When I first met you, I was scared of your eyes.

My blindness serves a purpose then!

Do like all the rest,

who refuse to see their faults.

That's not what I meant.

Of course it was!

Go on. Continue.

I am he who loves

The onelloveisI

What you're saying here, you do not understand.

And you refuse to say What you do understand.

I want you to deal with poetry,

like the words of a song,

you will feel it better.

I am he who loves The onelloveisI

Two souls in one body

His soul is mine

My soul is his

1 desire what he desires

And if I desire, he desires

That's all we needed. This used to be a respectable building.

- She's a belly dancer. - Daughter of a dancer.

- What a woman! - Strong

Your presence illuminates us, professor.

Learn to drive first. The breaks are in the middle.

Why? You have a license, and mine is just plain paper?

Slow down honey!

- Give me a cigarette. - 1 don't spend my money on men.

Let the men pass out in front of us!

- Good morning. - Hi, professor.

This is the theme for today.

See, my loved one Unity is beautiful

I saw love, It was absolute

Are you listening?

Great. He says it all without saying anything!

Let's forget about the classics: Ibn Burd, Ibn Arabi and Abu Nawas

and see how songs talk of pleasure.

Do you have Abdel Wahab's “Kiss me not on the eyes”

Too bad we don't. But I'll look.

Kiss me not on the eyes

A kiss on the eyes means parting

You could come back

And hope along

Kiss me not on the eyes

Kiss me not on the eyes

A kiss on the eyes is parting

Leave our goodbyes without kisses

Leave me hope

The sensuality.

Play "me, agony and your love."

Do you have it?

Our songs speak only of tears and suffering.

This is what I wanted to get at.

We're afraid of love

and of pleasure, we steal them,

we consider them to be illicit.

But you can't dissociate pleasure from Arab literature.

Let's go back to Abdel Wahab

The passion of the heart is endless

The passion of the body is transient

- It's Sufism - Infinite love.

None can escape...

This move made your mother famous.

But,

forget about it.

I want Dunia.

Your mother cried. I saw her collapse during rehearsals.

What matters with a rose, is her essence, her perfume..

You reap what you sow

You don't understand it?

Then eat it. Go on, eat.

This time I'm here officially.

- I've asked Inayate for your hand! - And I agreed.

Shopping for a man.

You two made business If I'd been a goat,

you would've asked for my opinion.

Should you say no

I will throw myself under this car.

Say yes.

Say it, say it.

I need time to think.

You done?

Kid, she's agreeing silently!

Mamdouh proposed. I said yes.

I can't afford to live like you.

I will have more peace when married.

What matters most is your freedom.

I'm in a garden!

- Come! - That's kidnapping.

O moon

1 did not intend to be absent

Ask the stars

If I ever slept.

What is love?

A fantasy.

What is love?

A torment.

What is love?

A Killer.

What is love?

Devotion, tenderness,

accomplishment,

a feast for all the senses.

I'm getting married.

Don't fear the shadow.

Concentrate on the light.

Take the light inside.

Are you in love with her?

If I was, I wouldn't hide it.

Why did you send her away?

Cause she had better things to do

then go off and get married.

What was so urgent?

Why run and hide behind the veil of traditions

to get to her freedom?

But she loves the boy, and he adores her!

Books eat your brain,

and the girl is finished. Her brain is decayed.

She wants love. The real Kind.

What did you teach her? Roasted love? Or was it fried?

That's all talk! Since when do you learn love at school?

How are you?

Well. Well.

Was my article printed?

I don't know yet.

- You've heard of course. - Heard what?

The editor won't publish your article.

He doesn't want to blow it out of proportion.

And the public's interest?

No one will carry out a sentence against The thousand and one..

I'll stop writing.

Keep me with you.

Left hand down.

Stomach.

Head.

Profile. Head. The head. Come here.

The shoulder. The other shoulder.

Here! The hand is too high... Not the other one!

Head, left and right.

There is a centre up. Down.

- Read

- Dawn

The Dawn

- And here?

Light.

The Light.

Love.

Why isolate yourself from the world?

Just like that, you walk out on us?

Can you find another driver as good as me?

Who says I've given up?

I just need to think,

to contemplate,

see where I'm at,

and anchor myself.

How is work with your mentor?

He impresses me.

- He's a real professor. - Of course.

He's a great professor.

Look how he brainwashed you.

Who brought him up? Me or you?

You hate me don't you? Say it!

You know what it means being a

An artist

Have you been seeing my aunt lately?

Pull, pull, now there's a noble pursuit.

Don't kiss me.

We have to talk.

Let's talk.

Talk.

You want my body? Take it.

But I can't kiss you.

From here to there, it's mine alone.

I'll look for my pleasure in there.

My head is my kingdom.

I won't share it.

Anybody can fill this bed.

But here...

... No.

Put your hair up before going out.

I was awful yesterday.

Who? Who's hand cuts the rose?

Cuts the bird's wing?

Who? Who?

Who? Who's hand cuts the rose?

Who? Who?

Cuts the bird's wing?

Who? Who?

Why this tear on my check?

Who? Who?

Who tears away the light of day?

Who? Who?

Who's hand delights in blood?

Who? Who?

This forever bleeding wound?

Who? Who?

Who's hand delights in blood?

Don't be scared.

It's just a small wound. To be clean.

You'll be a real woman, respectable. What do you say?

What is it? Something wrong?

Is it Mamdouh?

Tell us, don't hide anything,

Trust our expertise.

Let it be, dear.

Men don't see a thing!

You want to light him on fire?

Men don't see a thing!

Pamper him, provoke him.

Let him simmer,

on low heat.

One hip on the right,

two hips on the left.

It's an art.

When he's close to you

twirl him around.

Provoke him, heat him up.

Hold him like that.

Stretch him like this.

Watch the onions!

Then throw yourself at him!

But don't suffocate him. Wear something romantic,

Lilac, or blue

Draw closer, your perfume will drive him nuts.

Pass your hand, real slow.

- What? - You're giving me the shivers.

If he wants to Kiss you, say no.

The other side? Say no.

This way? No. That way? No, ho, no.

Then you get in bed,

and you pose. His eyes eating you up.

When you feel he's done for,

you escape.

Never give in unless you want to.

You hold all the keys.

Here Yasmine! Go get some bread quick!

Going up the stairs, I heard

Yasmine's grand-mother trying to convince her..

... to get excised. I know.

I told Antar: “excision, or me”

I come from a modest family,

my mother never finished school

and she helped me get my PhD.

She refused my excision

so much that my aunt spared her younger daughters.

Cold.

Mamdouh says that to me.

I feel like it, I try.

But my body says no.

No! No and no!

To sulk? Got no right!

Torment me? Got ho right!

You're in shape today.

One hip on the right,

two hips on the left.

It's a nice hostel. Lots of rooms?

Can I help you?

Can I leave these books for Pr. Beshir?

Tell your guest that homes have masters.

Whoever wants me comes to me.

You live under bridges nowadays?

Almost.

Where's your instant-husband?

My instant-husband?

Anyway, Arab hospitality,

prevents me from asking questions

to the travelling guest before six whole days,

to find out if he's friend or foe.

God forbid any hostility..

You're a friend then?

What is friendship between master and disciple?

They say a master dies without ever learning.

Accept this gift.

The Thousand and one nights?

The Indian edition.

The original edition.

Not a word missing.

What if I ask to be the only one to see you dance?

You knew what this competition meant to me!

We don't want your goddamn...

We don't need it.

Not your competition.

Studying is your priority.

It's your future.

Why won't you understand?

I will not drop what I started.

The entire world sees your body,

and screw me?

I don't interfere in your life!

Let's see what you can do,

coming one day out of ten.

Go on, improvise.

You're not with me today.

That won't do.

In the thousand and one nights

The heroine often has a secret to keep

not out of feminine cunning,

as Arab literature pretends,

but because it is a passage-way

that she crosses to transcend love,

on her way to fulfil her destiny.

Can?

- Do you have jasmine? - I have jasmine.

The heroine often has a secret to keep

Do you have something else?

I have a lot of things.

Good. You're going to mix this with that

A little bit of this one too.

Why the perfume? You sweat amber.

What a nose!

not out of feminine cunning,

as Arab literature pretends,

but because it is a passage-way

that she crosses to transcend love,

on her way to fulfil her destiny.

The heroine often has a secret to keep

foritis..

The heroine often has a secret to keep

because it is a passage-way

to transcend her love, on her way to her fulfil her destiny.

Come on my pretty. What are you afraid of?

We're going to remove a small, good for nothing

piece of skin. It will only do you good.

So you grow up to be Beautiful.

I bought you a doll.

See!

Inayate isn't here!

Come on, come on sweetie.

Sit down my darling.

Come on Mrs.

Now give me your hand.

You've done it?

Made her just like you.

You think you're protecting her

but you put her out.

Her cooking will remain cold

no matter how the fire is..

All the world's spices won't help.

She's my flesh and blood.

Your flesh?

You love and fear for her.

You wanted to make her a lady,

but in the end, you butchered her.

I need a room today.

Is that possible?

Yes.

Come to my room.

That's it... You and me,

we're the same now.

I wanted you to better off.

“"Mamdouh,

forgive me for going away,

but it's to understand what's going on inside me

And see if there's a future for us together”.

I will be gone all day...

Could you watch over the hostel?

Of course.

Jamalate?

Never wear someoneelse's clothes

no matter what the reason.

Never take on another's personality.

You are Dunia.

You are the world.

You are Dunia.

You are life.

You are Dunia.

I was not the only one to give.

You taught me a lot. You gave me life.

You are Dunia.

You are the world. You are Dunia.

The most beautiful of worlds.