Bab Al-Sama Maftuh, translated to mean “A Door to the Sky,” is about a woman named Nadia who returns from France to her home in Fes, Morocco as her father has fallen ill and soon after passes away. Nadia’s siblings, Driss and Leyla, are all of opposing opinions about their identity and what they wish to do with their family’s home upon their father’s death. Driss fully rejects his Moroccan identity and claims to be French. His wife is also French and they raise their son to also reject his Moroccan identity by making sure he “eats correctly.” Leyla, on the other hand, truly expresses her Moroccan and Muslim identity and conforms to the way she is expected to express herself. Nadia falls in between the two, and this begins the theme of Nadia being in the middle. Nadia is described as the “central force in the community1” by Florence Martin in her chapter “Farida Benlyazid’s Initiation Narrative: A Door to the Sky (Morocco, 1988)” from Screens and Veils: Maghrebi Women’s Cinema. Throughout the movie Nadia continuously is a driving force of action and eventually becomes the one that the women staying in the zawiya choose to go to and the way she presents herself as such evolves over time. Nadia begins the movie wearing a leather jacket and dressing very “French” but also does not want to deny her Moroccan heritage. Throughout the movie Nadia “dresses the part” more and wears the traditional clothing she is expected to. Although her outfit choice changes, Nadia continues to express herself as a nonconformist.
I have seen nonconformity played out in Rabat and Fes respectively, but it was carried out very differently. Around Rabat I see many women of different ages who do not wear a hijab or other type of veil and dress anywhere from conservative but modern to ripped jeans and a leather jacket, similar to Nadia in the beginning of the film. Rabat is a much more progressive and affluent city than Fes so it is more acceptable for women to challenge the boundaries that have been created for them in public spaces. In Fes I barely noticed women in public outside of young girls and older women. The gender ratio was so jarring that other peers who are not focusing on gender even noticed how few women they saw out and about. One woman who I did notice though wore a hijab and dark green jellaba and placed herself, alone, at an outdoor table at a cafe near Bab Bou Jeloud. In my opinion this act reflects the “transmodernity” described in Martin’s overture “Maghrebi Women’s Transvergent Cinema.” Transmodernity is described as the fluidity of boundaries being crossed in such a way that they can become irrelevant, even on a global scale2. I feel like this can be seen, especially in Rabat, as women begin to reclaim their positions in public spaces.
Towards the end of the movie a woman named Bahia, dressed very similarly to the younger Nadia, enters the zawiya seeking refuge and is resented by the other women. Nadia tries to explain to the others that all must be welcomed but they push their issue until Bahia finally feels so unwanted she decides to leave. This is a turning point for Nadia but one must acknowledge the perspective the viewer has. We do not see many words or actions directed towards Bahia other than murmurs and general resentment. This intentional choice is described well by Ed Sikov where he describes three theoretical directors at a baseball game in Film Studies: An Introduction. Any perspective is an accurate depiction of what happened, but each will carry different connotations. Although it was the same game, scene, and action, there were different films due to artistic choices, thus resulting in expressive consequences3. Similarly, in this film since the director mostly focuses on Nadia’s narrative the viewer does not get to learn more of Bahia’s story.
1 Martin, Florence. “Farida Benlyazid’s Initiation Narrative: A Door to the Sky (Morocco, 1988).” In Screens and Veils: Maghrebi Women’s Cinema, 11. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2011.
2 Martin, Florence. “Maghrebi Women’s Transvergent Cinema.” In Screens and Veils: Maghrebi Women’s Cinema, 11. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2011.
3 Sikov, Ed. “Introduction: Representation and Reality.” In Film Studies: An Introduction, 3–4. Chichester, West Sussex, NY: Columbia University Press, 2010.
Where the sun sets 