Would You Play The Perfect Strangers Game? Mona Zaki, Adel Karam, Diamand Bou Abboud and Director Wissam Smayra Share Their Answers…
Initiating conversations surrounding some of the most taboo topics in the region, Harpers Bazaar Arabia sits down with the film’s director and a few cast members to talk about the human side to filming Netflix’s first Arabic feature film…
Would you let your friends go through your phone at a dinner party, answer your calls and reply to incoming messages?
I’m sitting across the table from Egyptian cinematic legend Mona Zaki; award-winning Lebanese actor Adel Karam; actress and writer Diamand Bou Abboud; and director, Wissam Smayra. We’ve been talking about Perfect Strangers – Netflix’s first Arabic feature film which premiered on January 20.
Over the past twenty minutes we have been discussing character development and acting methods; the challenges of filming in Lebanon during a pandemic; and the pressures of reimagining an Italian cult classic that has been remade over 18 times in various languages for markets around the world. I’m acutely aware of just how much star power is in the room, how talented and accomplished they all are, but there’s one question I can’t stop myself from asking before I leave them…
Would any one of them play the game featured in Perfect Strangers at a dinner party?
Mona Zaki, who plays Maryam in the film, is the first to answer. “If they’re close [friends], I wouldn’t mind at all,” she says, a smile on her face. Wissam reacts with the reluctance of an acrophobe being forced to go skydiving: “I hate these things… It shouldn’t be touched,” he shutters. Diamand, who was cast in the role of Jana, is thoughtful with her answer, musing on how the implications from such a game can alter the dynamics between friends. “I would play it, I don’t mind,” she says, carefully thinking through her words, noting how innocent follies can sometimes uncover facts of great magnitude, ones that will alter a relationship forever. “Sometimes you’re not ready to accept some things about other people.” And Adel?“ I would never play this game,” he utters in a very serious tone, seemingly having learnt through his character, Ziad, just how detrimental this kind of “fun” can be. It’s a flat out no for him.
Watching Perfect Strangers is akin to witnessing a theatrical performance. The talent can’t hide behind the frivolities that so often come along with big blockbuster movies like special effects, elaborate set designs or flashy costumes. The entire story – which tackles themes like privacy, trust and fidelity, shatters stereotypes and touches on taboo topics within the region.
The narrative revolves around character development and their interactions, as we watch seven friends uncover secrets about one and other throughout the course of an evening. The stage is a dinner party and the antagonists are the characters’ mobile phones. The chemistry between the cast – Mona, Adel and Diamand are joined by Nadine Labaki, Georges Khabbaz, Eyad Nassar and Fouad Yammine – is white-hot electric. It is so nuanced that at times watching the film feels almost voyeuristic, as if the audience is witnessing intimate moments between loved ones.
Wissam shared insight into the process of casting the film, noting that each actor was “handpicked” for their respective roles. “While we were writing, some of the actors were already in our minds and some others came after,” he says, touching on how the collaborative nature between both on-camera and off-camera talent began well before filming started. “We had to work together… to make the characters fit and look real. There was a lot of work between us – the actors and myself – [to develop] the relationships and the back stories between them.”
“We talked a lot about the dynamics between Maryam and her husband, and how it’s such an unhealthy relationship… and it’s still going,” notes Mona. “How that affected her and got her into a drinking problem. There were so many aspects to her.” Adel, a self-proclaimed European “movie freak” who loved the story when he first watched it adopted a slightly different method when stepping into the role of Ziad. “I didn’t prepare that much for the character, because I’ve seen [the original film]” he says. When Wissam tapped him for the Arabic version, joining the project felt like a natural fit. “I didn’t find it difficult, because I related to the character when I saw the Italian version. So, it was an easy job for me,” he states in a matter-of-fact tone. While all the hard work clearly paid off, it’s easy to forget that the cast and crew were working against a very unique set of circumstances throughout the filming process.
“Making movies is already is a tough job. Making movies with amazing actors is even tougher, because you have to keep up your game. Making movies during lockdown is on a much more difficult level,” Wissam said, stressing how even simple things like sourcing costumes, set design and props came with a fresh wave of challenges. Miraculously, he was able to pull it all off thanks to the production team’s dedication, organisation and quick thinking – something all four are quick to flag and praise in our interview.
As entertaining as it is to watch the seven friends consent to play the game in Perfect Strangers, unpicking the psychology behind the characters’ actions – and the concept of having unrestricted access to another person’s mobile – is almost as fascinating as the story itself; especially so, considering how Wissam and Adel made it clear at the end of our conversation they would never consider playing the game, while Mona and Diamand stated they would be open to it. Naturally, this begs the question: do men and women value privacy differently?
Dr. Tara Wyne, the LightHouse Arabia’s Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Director, shares her expert insight on the matter. “I find that men seem to feel more violated and intruded upon when their phone privacy is breached; they may have absolutely nothing to hide, but react as though they have infinite secrets,” she says. “It feels like men, the masculine archetype of behaviour and [their] role is to protect borders, retain structure and boundaries to achieve safety. The blurring of lines of others knowing them or their content without invitation is a breach of their safety.”
“Females value privacy, but they are not as fierce about boundaries and borders… [They] are also less fearful about someone reading through their messages because, archetypally, they are more inclined to protect bonds and be careful of their feelings. Women are often at pains to be more explanatory and careful and, therefore, may also have less to hide or defend” – possibly explaining why May, played by Nadine Labaki, and Maryam, despite having secrets of their own, initiated the game, with the male characters subtly (or not so subtly) having more reservations about giving the group access to their phones for the evening.
But the biggest takeaway? The characters themselves cannot be put into boxes, described as entirely “good” or “bad,” because, as Mona clearly points out during our conversation, “humans aren’t like that.” Perfect Strangers reflects the struggles of every day people, the deepest and darkest ones so often concealed within the devices we carry around in our back pockets. And while some believe we should be more open and free with one and other, there are still others that follow a very different school of thought.
“This is why I was attracted to work on this movie because, for me… it is like opening Pandora’s Box. It shouldn’t be touched,” Wissam says. “I would never go [on] my mother’s mobile, I would never. You will always find something. I don’t want to know.”
Images courtesy of Netflix
